HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Fuget Cemetery

Grand Prairie, Dallas County, Texas

Marker Inscription

This property was part of a 640-acre tract of land patented to Peters colonists Rowland and Anna Huitt (also Hewitt) in 1843. The Huits immigrated to this area from Arkansas, and in 1847 Rowland became the second sheriff of Dallas County by filling the unexpired term of his brother John, who died that year. The oldest marked grave, that of J. H. Snow, dates to 1864, though unmarked graves may date earlier. Members of pioneer Grand Prairie families, infants, and veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I are among those interred here. The last burial took place in 1951. According to oral tradition, this graveyard is named after the Fuget (also spelled Fugat, Fugitt) family, who lived in this area during the 1800s. Their historic association with the property has not been determined, and no tombstones here bear the surname. In 1928, 300 acres of farmland surrounding the cemetery were leased by the City of Dallas to the U.S. Army for development as Hensley Field. In 1941 the property became a U. S. Naval Air Station and since 1949, Navy personnel have maintained the graveyard. It is a reminder of the area's early pioneer heritage.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This ground lay within a 640-acre tract patented to Peters colonists Rowland and Anna Huitt in 1843; Rowland became Dallas County's second sheriff in 1847. The oldest marked grave dates to 1864, and among those buried are pioneer families, infants, and veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I, with the last burial in 1951. Named by tradition for the Fuget family, the cemetery has since 1949 been maintained by Navy personnel of the adjoining former air station.

Why it matters

It preserves the layered history of a single patch of North Texas—from Peters Colony settlement to a twentieth-century naval air station—within a pioneer burial ground.

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Related people

  • · Rowland Huitt
  • · Anna Huitt

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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Southland Cemetery, Old

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