Highland Cemetery
Edgewood, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established by 1894, this burial ground serves the Highland community. In the 1880s, pioneering farmers settled the area after construction of a road which allowed easier access to markets. In 1889, John and Elizbaeth Valentine deeded property for a school building, which would also serve as a place of worship for Methodist and Church of Christ congregations. Community leaders instrumental in establishing a school community and in constructing the first building included J. J. Bateman, D. J. Newborn, Z. B. Daugherty, W. H. Palmer, U. L. Martin, John Hall and Joe Hamlet, along with John Valentine. The school moved in 1921, but the original site continued to be used as a burial ground. The oldest dated burial here, dating to 1894, is of Grover Dillard. Also buried here are veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War and Highland pioneers, including members of the Bateman, Batts, Hall, Palmer, Martin and Thompson families. Many of the interred were farmers, reflecting the rural nature of the settlement. At first, cotton was the area's primary crop; by the late 1930s, tomatoes became the main crop. Farmers also produced sweet potatoes, watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables. By the late 1950s, hay and cattle became major industries in this area, as throughout Van Zandt County. Highland Cemetery features obelisks, vertical stones, a Woodmen of the World marker and curbing. In 1959, Highland Memorial Association organized to care for the cemetery. Today, this cemetery endures as one of the few remaining vestiges of the Highland community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Highland Cemetery, established by 1894, served a Van Zandt County farming community that took shape once a new road opened easier access to markets. Settlers built a school in 1889 that doubled as a meeting house for Methodist and Church of Christ worshippers, and the surrounding families raised cotton, then tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and eventually cattle. Its obelisks, Woodmen of the World marker, and graves of Civil War veterans make it one of the last vestiges of the vanished Highland settlement.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of the countless small agricultural communities whose rise and fall shaped rural America's landscape.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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