Oakwood Cemetery
Cisco, Eastland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
OAKWOOD CEMETERY DOLPHIN WILLIAM BINT (1845-1883) CAME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ENGLAND IN 1876 AND SETTLED IN EASTLAND COUNTY IN THE RED GAP COMMUNITY. WHILE ON A JOURNEY TO FORT WORTH TO BUY LUMBER FOR THEIR HOME, HIS WIFE GAVE BIRTH TO A STILLBORN SON. HIS BURIAL UNDER AN OAK TREE IN THE FAMILY’S PASTURE BECAME THE FIRST IN OAKWOOD CEMETERY. THE BINTS RELOCATED TO DELMAR (NOW DOTHAN) AND THEIR PROPERTY WAS SOLD TO THE RAILWAY SURVEY, A PART OF WHICH WAS LATER DONATED TO THE CEMETERY IN 1910. THE FIRST CISCO CEMETERY ASSOCIATION WAS ORGANIZED IN 1899 TO CARE FOR THE CEMETERY. SHORTLY AFTER RECEIVING THEIR CHARTER IN 1900, THE MEMBERS RAISED FUNDS TO ENCLOSE THE GROUNDS, ERECT GATES, PLANT VEGETATION, AND IDENTIFY UNMARKED GRAVES. IN 1931, TEN ACRES WERE ADDED TO THE CEMETERY, AND AGAIN IN 1965 FROM THE CISCO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA), A 2,517 FT. ROCK WALL WAS ERECTED ON THREE SIDES OF THE CEMETERY. THE GENERAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CEMETERY IS TRADITIONAL WITH GRANITE, LIMESTONE, MARBLE, AND SANDSTONE GRAVE MARKERS WITH A PROMINENT WPA ROCK ARCHWAY AT THE SOUTHEAST ENTRANCE. A VARIETY OF NATURAL VEGETATION, INCLUDING MULBERRY, OAK, RED BUDS, CRAPE MYRTLE, CEDAR, PINE TREES, AND FERNS AFFORD SHADE AND BEAUTY TO THIS HISTORIC BURIAL SITE. OAKWOOD CEMETERY IS HOME TO OVER 7,000 GRAVES. MORE THAN SIX HUNDRED BURIALS ARE VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR, THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, WORLD WAR I, WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN WAR, AND THE VIETNAM WAR. THE CISCO CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ORGANIZED IN 1976 TO ESTABLISH A TRUST FUND AND PROVIDE CARE FOR THE CEMETERY, WHILE ALSO SERVING THE COMMUNITY OF CISCO. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2010
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Oakwood Cemetery in Cisco began by accident in 1883, when a family traveling to Fort Worth for lumber buried a stillborn son beneath an oak in their pasture. A cemetery association organized in 1899 fenced and beautified the grounds, and during the Depression the Works Progress Administration raised a 2,517-foot rock wall and a signature stone archway. Today more than 7,000 graves rest here, including over 600 veterans spanning the Civil War through Vietnam.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a layered chronicle of a West Texas town — from frontier hardship to New Deal public works — and a resting place for generations of Americans who served in every modern war.
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Related people
- · Dolphin William Bint
Related events
- · Works Progress Administration
Themes & tags
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