Old City Greenwood Cemetery
Weatherford, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This cemetery was formally established by the Weatherford town council in 1863 when lots were surveyed and the exact cemetery location was staked. Previous interments were made in the unmarked streets of the town. The mayor directed those remains be moved to the new cemetery. Historian H. Smythe noted in 1877 that the cemetery was a "sadly neglected spot," without a fence. By 1925 the civic league and cemetery association had been formed. The accomplishments of its women members were many. In addition to site beautification, the driveways were widened and graveled. A water well and windmill were installed, and a sexton was employed to secure the grounds. Cemetery care declined in the 1930's and later. Among the estimated 1,000 graves are Civil War medal of honor recipient Chester Bowen; trail drivers Oliver Loving and Boze Ikard; cattleman and founder of the Citizens National Bank J.R. Couts; Governor of Texas (1902-06) S.W.T. Lanham and his son, congressman Fritz G. Lanham; veterans of many wars; and pioneers of early Texas history. Restoration of the cemetery began in the late 1980's. The site continues to serve the area. (1996)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Formally established by Weatherford's town council in 1863, this cemetery gathered earlier burials that had been scattered in the town's unmarked streets. By the 1920s a civic league and cemetery association—led notably by its women members—had beautified and secured the neglected grounds. Among its estimated thousand graves rest Civil War Medal of Honor recipient Chester Bowen, famed trail drivers Oliver Loving and Bose Ikard, and Texas Governor S. W. T. Lanham.
Why it matters
The cemetery gathers in one place the cattle-drive pioneers, soldiers, and statesmen who built North Texas, making it a quiet register of the frontier's most storied figures.
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Related people
- · Chester Bowen
- · Oliver Loving
- · Bose Ikard
- · S. W. T. Lanham
- · Fritz G. Lanham
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Parker County, C.S.A.
Weatherford, TX
Created in 1855 on land once granted to Stephen F. Austin and S.M. Williams, Parker County had barely settled before the Civil War split it, voting 535 to 61 for secession in 1861. Its men supplied Confederate beef, rode against frequent Comanche and Kiowa raids, and sent nine companies to the war, while local rancher John R. Baylor even became Confederate governor of Arizona.
Lawson Daniel Gratz
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Born into slavery in 1839 on a Kentucky plantation, Lawson Daniel Gratz enlisted in the Federal army in 1864 and rose to first sergeant in the 114th U.S. Colored Infantry, serving at the sieges of Petersburg and Richmond and standing at Appomattox when Lee surrendered. He later reenlisted with the 10th U.S. Cavalry — the Buffalo Soldiers — and kept serving even after an explosion cost him the sight in one eye. Settling at last in Parker County, he raised fourteen children and was remembered for his leadership and unbending devotion to duty.
Lemley Cemetery
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The earliest grave here, dating to 1857, lies on land the Thomas B. Martin family settled in 1853 on the raw Texas frontier. After Martin sold the tract to the Lemley brothers, who had come from Illinois in the 1850s, the burial ground took their name and served family, friends, and neighboring settlers — including at least five Civil War veterans, with many graves marked only by native stones.
Long Creek Cemetery
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