Kyle Cemetery
Kyle, Hays County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Many people instrumental in the early development of this area are buried in Kyle Cemetery. Colonel Clairborne Kyle, one of Hays County's original settlers, buried his adopted son, willie Parks, here in 1849. Although Parks' interment is the first recorded at this site, local tradition claims that a man found hanging from a live oak tree located within these cemetery grounds was the first person buried here; that tree was thereafter referred to as "the hanging tree." Although it is believed that Claiborne Kyle set aside fifteen acres of his land surrounding these early interments for use as a community the first legal document mentioning Kyle Cemetery is a deed executed by his son, Polk, donating 5 acres for a burial ground in 1877. five additional acres were purchased for the cemetery in 1899 from Jason and Fannie Wilson by trustees w. L. Stephenson, J. H. white and d. W. Benner. Another five acres were donated to the newly incorporated cemetery in 1906 by O. g. Parke. Among the gravesites here are those of many area pioneers, including the Claiborne Kyle family, Edward Burleson, Jr., Ezekiel Nance, and veterans of the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Colonel Claiborne Kyle, one of Hays County's first settlers, buried his adopted son here in 1849 — the earliest recorded interment, though local lore claims a man hanged from a live oak on the grounds came first, giving rise to 'the hanging tree.' Kyle is said to have set aside land for a community burial ground, formalized when his son Polk deeded five acres in 1877 and further parcels were added into the next century. Among the pioneers and family members resting here are veterans of the Civil War and every major conflict through Vietnam.
Why it matters
A pioneer cemetery whose graves span from the Republic of Texas to Vietnam is a living timeline of an American community, holding its founders and its soldiers in the same ground.
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Related people
- · Claiborne Kyle
- · Edward Burleson, Jr.
- · Ezekiel Nance
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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