Lone Oak Cemetery
Geronimo, Guadalupe County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On January 17, 1897, German immigrants living in the Geronimo area met at Specht School to discuss the need for a community cemetery. The group formed a "friedhof gesellschaft," or cemetery association, and within a week purchased a five-acre plot of land from Ernst Puls and designated it the Lone Oak Cemetery. The following year the first burial, that of the one-week-old, unnamed son of Ernst and Bertha Puls, took place. Since its founding, over 900 burials have taken place, and several older 19th century graves have been relocated here as well. (1992) [Historic Texas Cemetery medallion added 2020]
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In January 1897, German immigrant families around Geronimo gathered at the Specht School and formed a 'friedhof gesellschaft,' or cemetery association, to establish a community burial ground. Within a week they bought five acres from Ernst Puls and named it Lone Oak Cemetery, where the first burial—the infant son of Ernst and Bertha Puls—took place the next year. More than 900 people now rest here, including reinterred graves from older sites.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a lasting institution of German immigrant life on the Texas frontier, built through the community self-organization those settlers prized.
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Related people
- · Ernst Puls
- · Bertha Puls
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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