San Leon Cemetery
San Leon, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The old section of this cemetery was in use at least as early as the 1890s as part of the town of North Galveston that was created in 1891 from the original 1837 Republic of Texas townsite of San Leon. Destroyed in the 1900 storm, the town was sold in 1910 to Congressman Joe Eagle, who restored the San Leon name. In 1920, Eagle deeded the old burial ground, as well as the entire block one, to San Leon for a community cemetery. Many graves and markers have been lost to early storms and erosion. Overseen by the San Leon Cemetery Committee since 1958, this site records the heritage of this area of Galveston County.Historic Texas Cemetery-2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The oldest graves here were dug by the 1890s, part of the town of North Galveston, itself carved in 1891 from the Republic of Texas townsite of San Leon first laid out in 1837. The great hurricane of 1900 destroyed the town, and in 1910 the land passed to Congressman Joe Eagle, who restored the old San Leon name and in 1920 deeded the burial ground to the community. Storms and erosion have swept away many graves and markers over the years, leaving the cemetery to carry what remains of the area's memory.
Why it matters
On the storm-battered Texas coast, a cemetery is often the most durable record a vanished town leaves behind—preserving the names of settlers after the buildings, and sometimes the town itself, have washed away.
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Related people
- · Joe Eagle
Related events
- · 1900 Galveston hurricane
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
San Leon
Bacliff, TX
On a peninsula ringed by bays, San Leon has been settled, abandoned, and reinvented many times. First claimed after Mexico opened the Texas tidelands in 1828 and platted as a townsite in 1837, the land reverted to open range before Galveston and Minnesota investors built the railroad town of North Galveston in 1892. The 1900 storm wiped out those ambitions; later the community was revived as a bayside resort and, between the world wars, was known for its fig and citrus orchards before turning to fishing.
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