Salt Creek Cemetery
Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas
Marker Inscription
James N. Jonas (1849-1932) and his wife, Caroline (Atteberry) (1850-1932), settled in the Salt Creek community around 1876. Two years later, a family traveling by wagon camped near the Jonas family land. When the family’s child died, the Jonases offered a burial place on their land. They later conveyed acreage for a community cemetery, also known as Dark Corner Cemetery. The historic Salt Creek schoolhouse stands east of the cemetery and is used by the Salt Creek-Dark Corner Cemetery Association, which holds an annual workday. Among the nearly 200 burials are veterans from the U. S. – Mexico War to the Korean conflict. The rural cemetery still serves as a burial ground for family members of some of the earliest settlers of Salt Creek.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James N. Jonas and his wife Caroline settled the Salt Creek community around 1876. Two years later, when a child in a wagon-traveling family died nearby, the Jonases offered a place on their land to bury it — and later gave acreage for a full community cemetery, also known as Dark Corner. The historic Salt Creek schoolhouse still stands to the east and hosts the cemetery association's annual workday. Among nearly 200 graves are veterans reaching from the U.S.-Mexico War to the Korean conflict.
Why it matters
Born from a stranger's roadside grief, this cemetery and its neighboring schoolhouse show how frontier neighbors built lasting institutions out of simple acts of kindness.
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Related people
- · James N. Jonas
- · Caroline Atteberry Jonas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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