Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cemetery
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This historic cemetery was established by Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church to meet the needs of the growing Mexican American New Braunfels population that increased in the late 1880s through the 1900s. In 1926, the church organized and, in 1931, the parish purchased land adjacent to Hidalgo Cemetery. The cemetery was enlarged and fenced in 1961. The majority of burials are from the 1930s to the 1970s; however, the oldest headstone is from 1891, as the land was used for burials prior to the establishment of the cemetery. Many servicemen are buried here along with business owners, farmers, grocers, housewives and laborers. Other burials include Francisca Chapa Sanchez (1872-1951), a well-known midwife in the area, Ruben Chapa (1924-2018), the first Hispanic quarterback at New Braunfels High School, and Gregorio Coronado (1920-1978), the first Hispanic attorney in New Braunfels. Tombstones are written in Spanish and English and are made from a variety of materials, including concrete, fieldstone, limestone and wood. Mosaic tiles, ceramic photographs and grave decorations such as conch shells and marbles pressed into concrete are present and reflect old and new Hispanic traditions and their strong Catholic faith. Frequently, miniature shrines decorate the graves with mementos representing the deceased. The settlement of Mexican Americans in New Braunfels had a significant impact on the industrialization and economy of the area, as well as on art, music, culture and sports. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cemetery is a reflection of the migration, history and lasting culture of the New Braunfels Mexican American community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2018
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As New Braunfels's Mexican American population grew from the 1880s onward, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church established this cemetery to serve a community of servicemen, farmers, grocers, laborers, and homemakers. Organized in 1926 and expanded across the mid-twentieth century, the grounds hold burials reaching back to an 1891 headstone, among them a beloved midwife, the high school's first Hispanic quarterback, and the town's first Hispanic attorney. Tombstones written in Spanish and English, decorated with mosaic tiles, conch shells, ceramic photographs, and miniature shrines, blend old and new Hispanic Catholic traditions. The cemetery is a living record of the migration and culture that reshaped New Braunfels.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the distinct funerary art and faith traditions of a Mexican American community that helped build New Braunfels's economy and culture. It stands as testimony to how Hispanic migration and heritage became woven into the fabric of a historically German Texas town.
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Related people
- · Francisca Chapa Sanchez
- · Ruben Chapa
- · Gregorio Coronado
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Panteón Hidalgo (Hidalgo Cemetery)
New Braunfels, TX
As Mexican families left economic and political turmoil for the railroads, farms, and mines of Comal County in the 1890s and after, many settled in New Braunfels and needed a burial ground of their own. In 1920 a mutual-aid society, the Asociación Mutualista de Beneficencia, established this cemetery, pooling monthly dues to cover funerals and support grieving families in the tradition of similar groups in Mexico. Its informal layout and homemade, hand-carved markers—with rustic art and Catholic motifs—echo village cemeteries south of the border.
Ferdinand J. Lindheimer
New Braunfels, TX
Born in Germany in 1801, Ferdinand Lindheimer fled to Texas and served in the Texas Army in 1836, then turned to the work that made his name — cataloging the plants of his adopted state. Often called the "Father of Texas Botany," he collected specimens that introduced dozens of native species to science. He and his wife Eleonora made their life in New Braunfels, the German immigrant town he helped chronicle.
Comal County Fair
New Braunfels, TX
The Comal County Fair has been a fixture of New Braunfels since the early 1890s, beginning in 1892 as a fundraiser tied to the dedication of the city hospital. A fair association organized in 1893 under president Harry Landa, and the event moved to permanent grounds along the Guadalupe River by the turn of the century. Scaled back during two world wars and the Depression, it endures as one of the largest county fairs in Texas, still closing local schools and businesses.
Junction of Two Important Rivers, the Guadalupe and the Comal
New Braunfels, TX
The meeting of the Guadalupe and Comal rivers was claimed for the King of Spain by Gov. Martín de Alarcón on May 8, 1718, and long served priests and soldiers traveling to East Texas. In 1845 a ferry run here by Adolph von Wedemeyer helped German immigrants settle Central Texas, and by the 1860s the spot held a brick kiln and tannery.