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Early RepublicCivil War

Pioneer's Rest Cemetery

Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas

Marker Inscription

This burial ground was started in the summer of 1850 upon the deaths of Sophie and Willis Arnold, children of Major Ripley A. Arnold (1817-1853), commander of the troops at Fort Worth. Arnold's friend, Doctor Adolphus Gouhenant, set aside a three-acre burial site at that time. In 1871, after a cemetery association was begun, Baldwin Samuels gave three adjoining acres. Many early Fort Worth settlers, including 75 Civil War veterans, are buried here. This site also contains the graves of Major Arnold and General Edward H.Tarrant (1799-1858), for whom Tarrant County was named.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This burial ground began in the summer of 1850 with the deaths of two young children of Major Ripley A. Arnold, commander of the troops at frontier Fort Worth, when his friend Dr. Adolphus Gouhenant set aside three acres for graves. A cemetery association expanded the grounds in 1871, and the site became the resting place of many of Fort Worth's earliest settlers, including some seventy-five Civil War veterans. Among those buried here are Major Arnold and General Edward H. Tarrant, for whom Tarrant County is named.

Why it matters

Pioneer's Rest gathers the founders of Fort Worth in one place, linking the town's frontier-fort origins to the county namesakes and Civil War generation who followed.

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Related people

  • ยท Ripley A. Arnold
  • ยท Edward H. Tarrant
  • ยท Adolphus Gouhenant

Themes & tags

Civil WarWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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