Morton Cemetery
Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Burial place of illustrious pioneers, including 1838-1841 Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798-1859) and one of State's first women settlers, Jane Long (1798-1880), known as "The Mother of Texas." On Labor No. 1 of Mexican land grant to William Morton, 1822 settler in advance party of Austin's "Old 300" colonists; founded 1825 when Morton buried Robert Gelaspie (Gillespie), a brother Mason who had met with foul play. Later he erected a handmade brick tomb, the first known Masonic landmark in Texas. In an 1833 Brazos flood, Morton himself met death and his body was lost. His widow Nancy inherited Labor No. 1 and sold it to Handy & Lusk, promoters of the Richmond townsite. In 1854 the parcel of land encompassing the cemetery was acquired by Michael DeChaumes. In the 1890s Morton Lodge No. 72, A. F. & A. M., gained possession of "DeChaumes Cemetery" and operated it as Richmond Masonic Cemetery until the early 1940s. It was then turned over to the newly-formed Richmond Cemetery Association, which later was retitled Morton Cemetery Association, probably to have its name conform to "Morton Cemetery" -- the name in use ever since the era of Lodge ownership. The cemetery has become a memorial to its founder.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This ground began as a burial place in 1825, when Stephen F. Austin "Old 300" colonist William Morton laid a fellow Mason to rest and later built the first known Masonic tomb in Texas. Among those interred here are Mirabeau B. Lamar, president of the Republic of Texas, and Jane Long, remembered as "the Mother of Texas." Passing through Masonic and civic hands over more than a century, the cemetery ultimately took Morton's name and became a memorial to its founder.
Why it matters
Few places gather so much of early Texas in one plot — an Old 300 pioneer, a republic president, and a celebrated frontier woman all resting where Anglo-American settlement of Texas began.
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Related people
- · Mirabeau B. Lamar
- · Jane Long
- · William Morton
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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