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Early Republic

Old Town Cemetery

Indianola, Calhoun County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Located on the elevated ridge at Indianola Beach, this cemetery is one of three that served the port of Indianola during the 19th century. The oldest existing grave marker, that of James Chilton Allan, bears a date of 1851. Also buried here are some of Calhoun County's earliest settlers, who came in the first wave of German immigration to Texas in the 1840s. Many of the original tombstones, including that of Angelina Eberly (d. 1860), heroine of the Texas Archives War, have disappeared over time because of storms and vandalism. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836- 1986.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

On a ridge above Indianola Beach lies one of the burial grounds that served the bustling Gulf port of Indianola, a rival to Galveston before hurricanes wiped it off the map. Its oldest legible stone dates to 1851, and among those laid to rest here were German immigrants who arrived in the great migration of the 1840s. One grave belonged to Angelina Eberly, remembered as the heroine of the Texas Archives War, though storms and vandalism have since erased her marker and many others.

Why it matters

The cemetery is a surviving trace of a vanished port city, preserving the names of German settlers and Texas notables whose community the sea reclaimed.

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Related people

  • · Angelina Eberly
  • · James Chilton Allan

Related events

  • · Texas Archives War

Themes & tags

ImmigrationWestward ExpansionGhost TownsLandmark

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