Hallettsville Memorial Park
Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Land originally property of Mrs. Mary Jane Hallett Ballard, who deeded it to trustees of the "Hallettsville Graveyard" in 1870. Area pioneers were buried here until 1898. The monument in center honors county's heroes in battles of the Alamo, Goliad, Gonzales, and San Jacinto. After 1898 the cemetery fell into disuse and weeds overgrew it. In 1952 several civic groups persuaded the city to establish a public park here; a group of leading citizens supervised its development. The city and local garden club have maintained the park and grounds since 1952. 1970
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This ground began as the "Hallettsville Graveyard," deeded by Mary Jane Hallett Ballard to trustees in 1870 and used for burials until 1898, after which it fell into neglect and overgrowth. In 1952 civic groups persuaded the city to convert the site into a public park, whose central monument honors the county's heroes who fought at the Alamo, Goliad, Gonzales, and San Jacinto. The city and local garden club have tended the grounds ever since.
Why it matters
The park's monument keeps alive the memory of Lavaca County men who fought in the defining battles of the Texas Revolution, tying a small community directly to the struggle for Texas independence.
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Related people
- · Mary Jane Hallett Ballard
Related events
- · Battle of the Alamo
- · Goliad Massacre
- · Battle of Gonzales
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Joseph Kent
Hallettsville, TX
Joseph Kent arrived in Texas around 1832, when the region was still a Mexican province stirring toward revolt. He took up arms in the Texas War for Independence, seeing action at the storming of Bexar in 1835 and at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, before settling and dying in Lavaca County in 1849.
Captain Leiper Willoughby
Hallettsville, TX
Leiper Willoughby came to Texas in 1831 and fought in Captain William H. Patton's company at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the engagement that won Texas its independence. He remained in arms for the young Republic, serving in the 1842 Vasquez Campaign against Mexican incursion and in frontier fighting that same year. He died in 1874, and the state honored him with a Star and Wreath marker in 1956.
Stephen Tucker Foley
Hallettsville, TX
Stephen Tucker Foley was born in Alabama and came to Texas in 1834, arriving just as the colony's break with Mexico approached. In 1836 he served in the Army of Texas, standing with Captain William Heard's company of citizen-soldiers at the Battle of San Jacinto. The State of Texas honored his service to the revolution with this marker in 1956.
Paul Scarborough
Hallettsville, TX
Paul Scarborough came to Texas in 1835 as the revolution was stirring and served in the Texas Army from that October into December. As a member of Company D, First Regiment Texas Volunteers, he fought at San Jacinto in 1836, the decisive battle that won Texas its independence. The State of Texas erected this marker to his memory in 1962.