Glenwood Cemetery
Groveton, Trinity County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Glenwood Cemetery has served the residents of Groveton for more than 100 years. The Trinity County Lumber Company established the town of Groveton by the spring of 1882. In the fall of that year, the town became the seat of government for Trinity County. Groveton grew swiftly, and residents soon needed a place for burials. The lumber company met this need in 1896 by deeding 10 acres for use as a cemetery. Virgin timber from the cemetery site was harvested and used in construction of the state capitol in Austin during the 1880s. The first interment here dates to 1885, prior to the date of deed. Among those buried here are community leaders and veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War. The Groveton Cemetery Association, later known as the Glenwood Cemetery Association, organized in 1896 to maintain the burial ground. Additionally, a non-profit corporation, a trust fund and individual contributions provide for the care of the site. The cemetery remains a vital link to Groveton’s past. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2006
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Groveton sprang up almost overnight in 1882 when the Trinity County Lumber Company platted a town in the East Texas pineywoods, and within months it became the county seat. As families poured in, the company deeded ten acres in 1896 for a cemetery, though the first burial had already taken place in 1885. Fittingly for a timber town, virgin pine felled on this very ground helped build the Texas State Capitol in Austin during the 1880s.
Why it matters
Glenwood Cemetery preserves the memory of a company-built lumber town whose forests literally raised the Texas Capitol, a small window onto the industrial boom that shaped the Piney Woods.
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Themes & tags
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