Ford Cemetery
Grand Prairie, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Pinkney Harold Ford (1831-1901) was the leader of a Kentucky family who migrated to Texas in 1855. They settled in the area of North Arlington, then known as the Watson Community. John J. Goodwin held the original patent to this cemetery property. The oldest marked grave is that of Maria Trayler (b. 1799), who died in 1858. Ford, a Civil War veteran, purchased this property in 1879 and designated this site as a community burial ground. He and wife Elizabeth (d. 1898) farmed land nearby. Industrial development has surrounded this remnant of the pioneer community. (1982)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Pinkney Harold Ford led a Kentucky family to Texas in 1855, settling in the Watson Community near present North Arlington. The oldest marked grave, that of Maria Trayler, dates to 1858, and Ford—a Civil War veteran—bought the property in 1879 to serve as a community burial ground. Industrial Grand Prairie has since grown up around this last trace of the pioneer settlement.
Why it matters
Small pioneer cemeteries surviving amid modern development preserve the memory of the migrant families who first farmed North Texas before the cities arrived.
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Related people
- · Pinkney Harold Ford
- · Maria Trayler
- · John J. Goodwin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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