Palacios Cemetery
Palacios, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The primary burial ground for citizens of Palacios, this cemetery dates to the beginnings of the community. The death of Alice Singer in 1905, three years after the founding of Palacios, gave rise to the need for a community cemetery. The land, which was once a part of the estate of Texas Cattle Baron A.H. "Shanghai" Pierce, was donated to the city for use as a cemetery by the Texas Rice Development Company and the Palacios Townsite Company. The plot was surveyed in 1907, and additional land was acquired in 1918 and 1983. Located just west of the original townsite, the cemetery's grave sites are marked with a variety of monuments, from simple wooden crosses and carved angels to large granite stones. A large monument to honor U.S. military veterans was erected in 1963 by local posts of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Soldiers and veterans of six wars are buried here -- The Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Additionally, stones marking the graves of Vietnamese refugees, a number of whom settled in Palacios and other Texas coastal towns after 1975, can be seen here. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This cemetery has served Palacios since the town's earliest days, born of the need created by the death of Alice Singer in 1905, three years after the community's founding. The land, once part of cattle baron A. H. 'Shanghai' Pierce's estate, was donated by local development companies and surveyed in 1907. Veterans of six American wars rest here, as do Vietnamese refugees who settled along the Texas coast after 1975.
Why it matters
Its graves trace a Gulf Coast community from its cattle-country origins through waves of American service and refugee resettlement.
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Related people
- · A. H. 'Shanghai' Pierce
- · Alice Singer
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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