Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery
Goldthwaite, Mills County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery In 1888, three local men bought land for use as a cemetery; the first burial was that of Houston Roberts. The Odd Fellows Lodge bought the grounds in 1894, adding land over the years. Watson Whittaker was killed during an 1898 train robbery and made headlines as a funeral train brought him to Mills County for burial here. The lodge sold the cemetery in 1943 to the city, and it became Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery. Local groups made improvements and placed memorials to honor the sacrifice of area veterans buried here. Today, the cemetery provides a link to area history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Three local men bought this ground for a cemetery in 1888, with Houston Roberts the first laid to rest. The Odd Fellows Lodge acquired and expanded it in 1894; among its stories is that of Watson Whittaker, killed in an 1898 train robbery and carried home by a funeral train that made headlines. The city took ownership in 1943, and community groups later added memorials honoring the area's veterans.
Why it matters
It links a Gilded Age boomtown's fraternal orders, frontier violence, and remembrance of its war dead in a single enduring landscape.
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Related people
- · Houston Roberts
- · Watson Whittaker
Themes & tags
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