Midfield Cemetery
Midfield, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The community of Midfield developed at a location equidistant from El Campo, Palacios, Bay City and Ganado. In 1904, the community's post office opened, and ten years later, the town was a stop on the Texas & New Orleans Railroad. By that time, Midfield-area residents were using this site as a community burial ground. Iva Nell Hale, born to William and Eva Bennett Hale in 1896, died from appendicitis on July 17, 1913, and was buried here. Her father talked to W.B. Gaumer, land agent and president of the Midfield State Bank, about the need for a community cemetery, and Gaumer formally deeded this site as a graveyard in August 1916. It has remained in community use since then. As Midfield's population waned in the latter part of the 20th century, area residents organized an association to maintain the burial ground. The group held its first organizational meeting in 1980, and it continues to care for the site. Members also maintain records on those buried here -- individuals who in large and small ways contributed to Midfield's history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Midfield rose at a crossroads equidistant from four coastal-plain towns, gaining a post office in 1904 and a railroad stop a decade later. When young Iva Nell Hale died of appendicitis in 1913, her grieving father pressed banker W.B. Gaumer to set aside a community graveyard, which Gaumer formally deeded in 1916. As the town dwindled late in the century, residents formed an association to keep the ground and its records.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of a small railroad-era farming community and the ordinary people whose lives shaped rural Texas.
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Related people
- · W.B. Gaumer
Themes & tags
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