Old Brazoria Cemetery
Brazoria, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Site given to Brazoria in 1827 by government of Mexico as cemetery for Catholics; thus was open to all residents, as all Austin Colony settlers were legally Catholics. By 1930, this was full, and new cemetery opened. Most pioneer families have members buried here. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1827 the Mexican government granted Brazoria this ground as a Catholic cemetery—which in practice meant it was open to everyone, since all of Austin's colonists were, by law, counted as Catholics. Generations of the colony's pioneer families were laid to rest here until the burial ground filled by 1930 and a new cemetery opened. It remains a roll call of the Anglo-American settlers of Stephen F. Austin's colony.
Why it matters
The cemetery embodies the peculiar legal bargain of Mexican Texas, where American immigrants nominally embraced Catholicism to claim land, and holds the founders of one of Texas's earliest colonial towns.
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Themes & tags
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