Santo Nino Cemetery
San Diego, Duval County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located south of San Diego, the Santo Nino Cemetery is an important chronicle of a historic Duval County community. The northern half of the cemetery was donated by Vicente Gonzales, whose grandfather, Dionicio Elizondo, received a land grant called, "El Senor de la Carrera." The southern half of the cemetery was donated by Jose Maria Martinez Gonzales, who was the son of Julia Gonzales Garcia, an aunt of Vicente Gonzales. Their donation was a part of the historic "La Huerta" land grant. The family members of the two original grantees donated the land for this cemetery to keep their loved ones close to the land they loved and sacrificed for. At the time of the land grants, Duval County was still part of Mexico. Unmarked graves with eroded and illegible grave markers predate the earliest marked burials. The oldest readable tombstone dates to June 19, 1908. This marker belongs to Eluterio Saenz Martinez, who was born on February 13, 1827. Another burial belongs to Maria Guillerma Garcia Solis, wife of Jose Maria Martinez Gonzales. Several veterans are interred here including those who fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. This cemetery has served Duval County families from the time it was part of Mexico, through the Republic of Texas, and finally as part of the 28th state of the United States. Santo Nino Cemetery is a reflection of the evolution of the area's history, resulting in an integrated cemetery with Anglo Americans and Mexican Americans laid to rest side by side. It has served the San Diego community as a final resting place for more than 100 years and continues to be used by the community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2012
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
South of San Diego in Duval County, this cemetery grew from two Spanish-Mexican land grants, El Señor de la Carrera and La Huerta, whose grantee families gave the ground to keep their dead near the land they loved. The oldest legible stone dates to 1908, though unmarked and eroded graves reach back further, into the years when this was still part of Mexico. Anglo and Mexican Americans lie buried side by side here, among them veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Why it matters
Spanning Mexican, Republic, and United States rule, the cemetery embodies the deep Tejano roots of South Texas and the intertwined heritage of the borderlands.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Archelaus Bynum Dodson
Alice, TX
Archelaus Bynum Dodson came to Texas from North Carolina in 1827 and threw himself into the independence movement, serving as a convention delegate in 1832 and as a lieutenant in 1835. His young wife, Sarah, sewed a red, white, and blue banner for his company — a flag remembered as an early Lone Star of Texas, said to have flown over Washington-on-the-Brazos when the Declaration of Independence was signed in March 1836. Dodson fought on through victory at San Jacinto, then spent his long life moving ever westward with the Texas frontier.
Mexican Activities at Santa Gertrudis in the 1830's
Kingsville, TX
This camp on the Santa Gertrudis was a strategic waypoint during the Texas Revolution, hosting the northward march of General José Urrea's column of Santa Anna's army in early 1836. Among those who passed through were figures on both sides of the era's brutality — the merciful "Angel of Goliad" and Colonel Garay, alongside Colonel Portilla, who carried out the Palm Sunday execution of Texan prisoners at Goliad. After the Mexican defeat at San Jacinto, the same ground witnessed the ragged southward retreat of thousands of soldiers, camp followers, and captured livestock.
Battle of Agua Dulce
Agua Dulce, TX
In the winter of 1835–36, as Texas fought for independence from Mexico, a freelance expedition led by Dr. James Grant and Frances W. Johnson set out to seize Matamoros — a scheme Sam Houston distrusted and that bled away recruits before it reached the Nueces. General José de Urrea's cavalry ran the scattered volunteers down, overwhelming Johnson's camp at San Patricio and then surprising Grant's horse-hunting party at Agua Dulce Creek. The clash fell on March 2, 1836 — the very day delegates at Washington-on-the-Brazos signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
At the Forks of the Agua Dulce
Banquete, TX
In the opening weeks of the Texas Revolution, a party of Texan volunteers under Dr. James Grant was caught by General José Urrea's Mexican cavalry near the forks of the Agua Dulce on March 2, 1836. Grant, Major Robert C. Morris and roughly a dozen others were killed in a running fight across the coastal brush country southwest of San Patricio. The State of Texas raised this marker in 1936 to name the fallen on the revolution's centennial.