Richland Cemetery
Richland, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In town founded after the Houston & Texas Central Railroad bypassed older villages. An early store was moved from Pisgah Ridge ( 5 mi. W) by J. T. and Prudence Anderson Patrick, who settled in Richland in 1870. They had three sons, Walter, Jim, and Arthur; and one daughter, Willie. First need for a burial site arose in 1895 with death of Mrs. Willie Patrick Brown, wife of Dr. A. N. Brown. An acre for burials was given by the estate of William Marsh Rice, an investor in the H. & T. C., and owner of much land on the line. A few years later, two adjacent acres were bought from the Rice heirs; Still later, three more acres were bought from Mmes. Eva Swink and Jewel Weaver. Early trustees included Horace Ballew, Dr. A. N. Brown, Shelton Brown, T. B. Skipper, Henry Swink, Fred Tucker, and Clint and Dick Williams. Maintenance for years was done in an annual "All-Day Working". In 1935, Richland Cemetery Association was formed, with Mrs. Dora Anderson as president, and Mrs. Gordon Elkins as secretary-treasurer. Many improvements have since been made by the association. In this cemetery are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and members of many of the founding families of Navarro County. Marker Sponsors: Richland Cemetery Association, Mr. and Mrs. Gussie Weaver and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Patrick, Jr.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Richland rose in the 1870s after the Houston & Texas Central Railroad bypassed older villages, drawing settlers like the Patrick family who relocated a store to the new rail town. The community's first burials began in 1895 on an acre donated from the estate of railroad investor William Marsh Rice, and neighbors long tended the grounds through an annual 'All-Day Working.' The cemetery holds veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II alongside Navarro County's founding families.
Why it matters
It captures how the coming of the railroad remade the rural Texas landscape, birthing new towns whose cemeteries now preserve the memory of the families who built them.
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Related people
- · J. T. Patrick
- · Prudence Anderson Patrick
- · William Marsh Rice
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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