Shady Grove Cemetery
Grand Prairie, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1877 Louis H. Caster (1826 - 1908) deeded one acre for a community graveyard, church, and schoolhouse. His son-in-law Lewis Dowd gave further acreage in 1888. Once a center of social life for the pioneer families of Shady Grove, the church and school have been relocated. The cemetery remains in use. Oldest of the 450 marked graves is dated 1878. Veterans of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War rest here. A cemetery association, formed in 1962, maintains the site. Additional land was given in 1971 by the W. Q. Seale family and by Gifford Hill & Co., Inc.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Shady Grove Cemetery began in 1877 when Louis H. Caster deeded an acre for a community graveyard, church, and schoolhouse near Grand Prairie, with his son-in-law Lewis Dowd adding land in 1888. Once the social heart of the pioneer Shady Grove settlement, the site saw its church and school relocated while the cemetery, with its oldest marked grave dated 1878, stayed in use. Among its 450 marked graves rest veterans of the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Korean War, and a cemetery association formed in 1962 still tends the grounds.
Why it matters
Rural community cemeteries like Shady Grove preserve the layered memory of frontier settlement and generations of military service in a single patch of Texas soil.
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Related people
- · Louis H. Caster
- · Lewis Dowd
Themes & tags
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