HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil War

Sadler Cemetery

Coryell City, Coryell County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Sadler Cemetery Settlers, including many from Tennessee, arrived in the area around Rainey's Creek in the early 1850s. The community became known as Rainey's Creek until 1871, when the post office changed its name to Coryell City. By that time, the community cemetery had been established on land set aside in the 1850s by Chester Calhoun Sadler (d. 1911) for his family, friends and neighbors. Sadler, a farmer, freighter, confederate veteran and community leader, came to Texas from Tennessee with his wife, Delia Douglas Cowan Sadler, and their children. Ira Bradford Sadler, Delia's son from a previous marriage, was a Confederate soldier and a prisoner of war; he later became a lawyer and served in the Texas Legislature. These individuals and several other Civil War veterans are buried here among the graves of their families and other pioneers. As Coryell City grew, area residents began using church graveyards. The last burial in Sadler Cemetery was in 1940. Today, the site is maintained by Sadler descendants and community members. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Settlers, many from Tennessee, reached the Rainey's Creek area in the early 1850s in the community later renamed Coryell City. Chester Calhoun Sadler, a farmer, freighter, and Confederate veteran, set aside land for a cemetery serving his family and neighbors. His stepson Ira Bradford Sadler, a Confederate soldier and prisoner of war who became a lawyer and legislator, lies here among other Civil War veterans and pioneer families.

Why it matters

It gathers in one plot the antebellum settlers and Confederate soldiers whose service and struggles shaped a generation of Central Texas.

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Related people

  • · Chester Calhoun Sadler
  • · Ira Bradford Sadler
  • · Delia Douglas Cowan Sadler

Themes & tags

Civil WarWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

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