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Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

Maxdale Cemetery

Killeen vicinity, Bell County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Established in the 1860s to serve the rural community of Pleasant Grove, this cemetery is one of the oldest in Bell County. Land for the graveyard was given by Frank N. McBryde, Sr., whose 1883 application for a post office for the community resulted in the name change to Maxdale. The earliest documented grave is that of Louisa Marlar (1849-1867), although an 1863 tombstone marks the site of a grave reinterred here from another location. Others interred here include pioneer settlers and veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korea. (1989)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

One of the oldest cemeteries in Bell County, this burial ground began in the 1860s serving the rural community of Pleasant Grove. When Frank N. McBryde, Sr. — who donated the land — secured a post office in 1883, the settlement took the name Maxdale. Its earliest documented grave is that of a young woman who died in 1867, and among those laid to rest here are pioneer settlers and veterans reaching from the Civil War through Korea.

Why it matters

The cemetery quietly chronicles a Central Texas community from its frontier origins through a century of American service and sacrifice.

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Related people

  • · Frank N. McBryde, Sr.
  • · Louisa Marlar

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionMilitary & WartimeFrontier HistoryMemorial

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