Hodge Cemetery
Temple, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Occupying less than one acre of land, this cemetery is named for J.W. Hodge (d.1920), who purchased the surrounding property in 1870. Burials had taken place before that date, however, as indicated by the tombstones of J.S. and Sallie Clary, area landowners who were interred here in 1868. A native Texan, Hodge was a successful rancher and farmer in Bell County. He and his wife, Martha (1849-1905), are both buried here, as is Joseph Dennis (1810-1894), an early Bell County leader. Hodge Cemetery stands as a good example of a pioneer graveyard. (1985)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This small Bell County graveyard takes its name from J. W. Hodge, a successful rancher and farmer who bought the surrounding land in 1870, though burials here reach back at least to 1868. Alongside Hodge and his wife Martha lie other early settlers, including community leader Joseph Dennis, born back in 1810. Occupying less than an acre, it survives as a well-kept example of a Central Texas pioneer graveyard.
Why it matters
Modest cemeteries like this preserve the names of the ranchers and farmers whose labor built out the Texas frontier in the late nineteenth century.
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Related people
- · J. W. Hodge
- · Joseph Dennis
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Joseph Dennis
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A Tennessee native, Joseph Dennis brought his family to Texas in 1849, just as Bell County was being carved from Milam County. He helped choose the site that became Belton, the county seat, and served as the county's first treasurer before relocating to Temple.
Bird Creek Battlefield
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