HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

King Cemetery

Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas

Marker Inscription

KING CEMETERY LOCATED ON A HILL OVERLOOKING KING FLATS ON THE GUADALUPE RIVER, THIS CEMETERY HAS SERVED THE AREA SINCE THE 1830s. JOHN GLADDEN KING, A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT OF THE DEWITT COLONY, AND HIS WIFE, PARMELIA, SETTLED ON THIS LAND IN 1830. THE EARLIEST MARKED GRAVE IS THAT OF WILLIAM G. HALL, THE FIRSTBORN OF ROBERT AND MARY KING HALL, WHO WAS JUST TWO DAYS OLD WHEN HE PASSED IN 1838. SEVEN GENERATIONS OF THE KING FAMILY ARE BURIED HERE. VETERANS FROM THE TEXAS REVOLUTION, WAR OF 1812, CIVIL WAR, WORLD WAR II AND KOREAN WAR HAVE BEEN LAID TO REST IN THIS CEMETERY ALONG WITH SEVERAL TEXAS RANGERS. THE KING CEMETERY IS A SIGNIFICANT CHRONICLE OF THE FRONTIER SETTLEMENT OF GONZALES COUNTY. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2010

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Perched on a hill above King Flats on the Guadalupe River, this burial ground has served the area since the 1830s, when John Gladden King—a member of the DeWitt Colony's governing council—and his wife Parmelia settled the land in 1830. The oldest marked grave belongs to two-day-old William G. Hall, who died in 1838, and seven generations of the King family rest here. Among the graves lie Texas Rangers and veterans of conflicts spanning the War of 1812 through the Korean War.

Why it matters

A single family cemetery can trace the whole arc of Texas frontier settlement, from the DeWitt Colony pioneers through generations of soldiers and Rangers.

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Related people

  • · John Gladden King
  • · Parmelia King
  • · William G. Hall

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionMilitary & WartimeFrontier HistoryMemorial

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