Indianola Cemetery
Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Many of the graves in this cemetery reflect the hardships encountered by residents of Indianola, one of Texas' leading 19th-century ports. The earliest marked grave is that of a child, William Woodward. His death occurred in 1852, a year when cholera and yellow fever epidemics swept through Indianola. During the Civil War, the town was occupied by Confederate and Union soldiers, and men from both sides are buried here. Victims of the 1875 and 1886 hurricanes, which devastated the town, are also interred in this cemetery. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The graves in this cemetery record the hardships borne by the people of Indianola, one of Texas' great 19th-century ports. The earliest marked burial, a child named William Woodward, dates to the cholera and yellow fever epidemics of 1852, and soldiers of both North and South who occupied the town in the Civil War lie here as well. Victims of the devastating hurricanes of 1875 and 1886 that destroyed Indianola are also interred here.
Why it matters
The cemetery is the lasting memorial of a vanished American port, holding the epidemic, war, and storm victims whose town the sea ultimately reclaimed.
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Related people
- · William Woodward
Related events
- · Civil War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sgt. William Henry Barnes
Port Lavaca, TX
William Henry Barnes enlisted in the Union Army in early 1864, joining the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. That September he was wounded storming the Confederate works at the Battle of New Market Heights in Virginia—valor that earned him the Medal of Honor. Promoted to sergeant and posted to the Texas border, he died of consumption in 1866 and was ultimately reinterred in the San Antonio National Cemetery.
Indianola
Indianola, TX
Once a great Texas seaport, Indianola saw the sweep of the state's history pass through its wharves: Spanish exploration, La Salle's 1685 landing nearby, German colonists led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, frontier army supplies, and even the U.S. Army's experimental camels. During the Civil War it and nearby Fort Esperanza were prizes in the Federal blockade, changing hands after fierce fighting in 1863. Twin hurricanes in 1875 and 1886 finally wiped the town from the coast.
Judge Henry Joseph Huck
Indianola, TX
Educated in Germany and seasoned as a young merchant in London, Henry Joseph Huck sailed to America in the 1840s and made his way to Indian Point—soon the booming Gulf port of Indianola. He opened lumber yards, became one of Calhoun County's first probate judges, promoted railroads, and served as a Confederate quartermaster during the Civil War. Twice hurricanes battered Indianola, and the catastrophic 1886 storm destroyed his business and the town itself, driving him at last to Austin.
Port Lavaca Cemetery
Port Lavaca, TX
Burials began in this coastal cemetery in the 1840s, with several mass graves left by an 1849 cholera epidemic. Pioneer families, state and local officials, and at least one veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto are buried here, along with soldiers of both the Union and the Confederacy. Expanded over the years, the graveyard now covers eight city blocks.