Howell Cemetery
Newton, Newton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The family of James William (1805-1876) and Louisa Cheshire (1816-1899) Howell came to this area from Alabama in 1872. Family members bought adjoining land, and the settlement, named Howell, was granted a post office in 1889. One Howell son, Marmaduke, introduced the concept of terrace farming to Texas in 1882. A one-acre plot of land was designated a cemetery in 1876. The oldest marked grave is that of a Howell grandson, Robert Lee Howell (1871-1875). The cemetery was deeded to Howell descendants by one of James and Louisa's sons in 1914. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James William and Louisa Cheshire Howell brought their family from Alabama in 1872, and their kin bought up adjoining land until the settlement of Howell earned a post office in 1889. Son Marmaduke is credited with introducing terrace farming to Texas in 1882, a soil-saving practice on the region's rolling land. A one-acre cemetery was set aside in 1876 — its oldest marked grave a Howell grandchild who died in 1875 — and later deeded to the family's descendants.
Why it matters
The Howell settlement shows how extended kin networks colonized post–Civil War Texas, bringing not just people but farming techniques that reshaped how the land was worked.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Newton County lies in the far east of Texas, near the Louisiana border, in the piney woods. In the years after the Civil War this was rural country of forest, small farms and scattered settlements, with families clearing land and building communities around kinship, church and the local post office.
The 1870s brought a wave of migration into Texas from the older Southern states. Families from places like Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi moved west in search of cheaper land and a fresh start after the war's devastation. They often came in extended family groups and settled close together, which helped them survive the hard work of building farms from scratch.
The Howell family's arrival in 1872 fits that pattern exactly. Farming in this period meant constant struggle with the land itself, including the problem of soil washing away on sloping ground. That challenge is what makes one Howell son's contribution to Texas agriculture so interesting.
People & events
James William Howell, born in 1805, and Louisa Cheshire Howell, born in 1816, brought their family to this area from Alabama in 1872. Their family members bought neighboring parcels of land, building a settlement out of kinship. It came to be called Howell, and in 1889 it was granted its own post office, a sign that it had become a recognized community.
According to the marker, one Howell son, Marmaduke, introduced the concept of terrace farming to Texas in 1882. Terracing shapes sloping fields into level steps or ridges that slow the flow of rainwater, which helps keep valuable topsoil from washing away. It was a significant idea for farmers working rolling land.
The cemetery tells the family's more personal story. A one-acre plot was set aside as a burial ground in 1876, the same year James William Howell died. The oldest marked grave belongs to a grandson, Robert Lee Howell, who lived from 1871 to 1875. He died before the land was formally designated, a quiet reminder of how common the loss of young children was in frontier families. Louisa lived until 1899. In 1914, one of her and James's sons deeded the cemetery to Howell descendants, keeping it in the care of the family.
Its place in the American story
The Howell settlement reflects one of the defining patterns of post-Civil War America: the movement of Southern families westward, often traveling and settling as extended clans. Many small Texas communities began exactly this way, as a cluster of related households whose name became the name of the place.
The marker's claim about terrace farming connects this small settlement to a much larger national concern. Soil erosion was a serious problem for American farmers, and it became a national crisis in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl, when soil conservation became federal policy. Techniques like terracing became central to that effort. The Howell story is a reminder that local farmers were experimenting with ways to protect the land long before it became a national priority.
Family cemeteries like this one are also part of the American story. Across the rural South and West, they hold the records of communities that may no longer appear on maps: births, deaths, family lines and the hardships of settlement, preserved in stone.
If you visit
A family cemetery is a place for quiet and respect. As you walk the grounds, look for the names and dates that tie the stones to the story on the marker, and take note of the oldest marked grave, a small child's from 1875. Read the stones gently and leave everything as you found it.
Take a moment to look at the surrounding landscape as well. Think about the family groups who came from Alabama and spread out across neighboring tracts here, and about how a young farmer could look at sloping fields and imagine ways to keep the rain from carrying away the soil.
The cemetery makes a good stop on a backroads drive through deep East Texas, a region of pine forest, small towns and long family histories. Pair it with nearby historic sites in Newton County to get a fuller picture of how the piney woods were settled after the Civil War.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · James William Howell
- · Louisa Cheshire Howell
- · Marmaduke Howell
Themes & tags
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