Keeter Cemetery
Keeter, Wise County, Texas
Marker Inscription
For over 100 years beginning in 1882 this cemetery has been the sole graveyard serving the community of Keeter. The oldest recorded gravesite in the cemetery is that of Ida Mae Ryan (1881-1882). Albert Lafayette Keeter, for whom the community of Keeter was named, donated this property for use as a cemetery in 1891. While Keeter's daughter, Leonah, is thought to be buried here, he left this area and is believed to buried in Hardeman County. At least three veterans of the American Civil War and two veterans of World War II are buried here.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
For more than a century, Keeter Cemetery has been the sole burial ground of the small community of Keeter, its earliest recorded grave that of infant Ida Mae Ryan, who died in 1882. Albert Lafayette Keeter, the settlement's namesake, donated the land for a cemetery in 1891 before moving away himself. Among those laid to rest here are Civil War and World War II veterans, tracing the community's span across generations.
Why it matters
Rural community cemeteries like Keeter's are the quiet archives of frontier settlement, preserving the names and generations of the pioneer families who built and sustained small-town Texas.
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Related people
- · Albert Lafayette Keeter
- · Ida Mae Ryan
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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"Machine Gun" Kelley
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