Pagel Cemetery
Fayetteville, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Gottfried and Friedrike (Dickow) Pagel came to Texas from Pomerania in 1850 with eight children and purchased land in this vicinity in 1852. The following year, Friedrike died shortly after giving birth to her ninth child. In 1855, Gottfried wed widow Johanna "Anna" Zorn Fritsche. Her daughter Magdalena wed the eldest Pagel son, Friedrich Wilhelm, known as Wilhelm, in 1858. Gottfried moved his family to Lavaca County, but Wilhelm and Magdalena stayed in Fayette County. They bought more land at Willow Springs, where Wilhelm built a stone house, operated a store and served as the first postmaster for the community then known as Rock House. Wilhelm died in 1873 and was buried on the original Pagel land, where his mother may have been buried 20 years earlier. His is the first marked grave in what became Pagel Cemetery. Magdalena died in 1886, and hers is the second known burial. Many neighbors joined the Pagels in burying loved ones here, and there are numerous interments from the extended Henniger, Garlin, Kruse and Lincke families. The cemetery is maintained by descendants of the area's pioneers, many of whom were of German heritage. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Gottfried and Friedrike Pagel came to Texas from Pomerania in 1850 with eight children, buying land in this vicinity in 1852; Friedrike died the next year after the birth of her ninth child. Their son Wilhelm built a stone house, ran a store, and served as first postmaster of the community then called Rock House, and his 1873 burial on the family land became the first marked grave in what grew into Pagel Cemetery. Many neighbors of German heritage joined the Pagels here, and their descendants still maintain the grounds.
Why it matters
The cemetery embodies the close-knit German immigrant communities that settled Fayette County and shaped the culture of Central Texas.
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Related people
- · Gottfried Pagel
- · Wilhelm Pagel
Themes & tags
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