Homer Cemetery
Lufkin vicinity, Angelina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1854 W. W. Manning established a drugstore and sawmill in this area, and named the community after his former home in Homer, Louisiana. In 1856 Homer was chosen as Angelina County seat, following a mandate from the Texas Legislature to locate a permanent seat of government near the geographic center of each county. County surveyor William G. Lang platted the town of Homer in 1857. The town included a central courthouse surrounded by 24 blocks and 132 lots. Homer Cemetery was located southeast of the courthouse square. The first recorded grave in the cemetery is that of Margaret Patterson McMullen in 1861. Two of McMullen's sons served in the Civil War, and both are also buried here. Among other veterans from the Civil War to the Vietnam War Homer remained the county seat until 1892 and included several businesses, public and private schools, churches, and a newspaper. Due to its prominence in the county, many county officials are buried here. Governed by a board of trustees, Homer Cemetery contains 270 burials, and continues to serve the community. (1997)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1854 W.W. Manning opened a drugstore and sawmill here and named the settlement Homer for his old Louisiana home. Chosen as Angelina County seat in 1856 under a state mandate to center each county's government, Homer was platted in 1857 around a courthouse square, and its cemetery took its first recorded burial—Margaret Patterson McMullen—in 1861. The town thrived with schools, churches, and a newspaper until it lost the county seat in 1892; its cemetery, holding veterans from the Civil War to Vietnam and many county officials, still serves the community today.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a layered record of a Texas county's rise and decline, preserving the founders, officials, and soldiers of a once-prominent county seat that time passed by.
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Related people
- · W.W. Manning
- · Margaret Patterson McMullen
- · William G. Lang
Themes & tags
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