Foster Cemetery
Sterling City, Sterling County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Foster Cemetery originally was part of the ranch land owned by Robert West and Fannie B. Foster, early settlers and prominent civic leaders in the area. Their infant daughter, Fay, was the first to be buried at the site in 1883. Over the years, numerous prominent Sterling County citizens have been buried in the public graveyard. Included among those are R. W. Foster and his brother, William Lenard, who served on the first Sterling County Commissioners Court; Ethel Foster, a former president of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs; Rufus West Foster and John Walraven, former mayors of Sterling City; early ranchers Newel C. Hodges, W. E. Brownfield, James W. Reynolds, and A. Carper; and saloon keeper and cattle inspector Frank C. Sparkman. For more than one hundred years the cemetery has served the Foster family and citizens from all parts of Sterling County. Now consisting of approximately 3.5 acres, the graveyard is maintained by the Foster Cemetery Association. With historic ties to the formative years of Sterling County, Foster Cemetery is a good example of a pioneer graveyard.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Foster Cemetery began on the ranch of Robert West and Fannie B. Foster, early settlers and civic leaders of Sterling County, when their infant daughter Fay became the first burial here in 1883. Over more than a century it grew into the resting place of the county's founders—commissioners, mayors, early ranchers, and even a saloon keeper who doubled as a cattle inspector. Among them lies Ethel Foster, a president of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs.
Why it matters
A family ranch plot that became a whole county's graveyard, Foster Cemetery preserves the formative generation of Sterling County—including a woman whose leadership reached far beyond the West Texas ranch country.
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Related people
- · Robert West Foster
- · Fannie B. Foster
- · Ethel Foster
- · William Lenard Foster
- · Rufus West Foster
Themes & tags
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