HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded AgeProgressive & Modern Era

Silver Valley Cemetery

Silver Valley, Coleman County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Silver Valley Cemetery The first known grave here is that of Helen A. (Crocker) Averitt, who, like her husband, John C. Averitt, was an early area spiritual leader and educator. Her burial in 1881 predated the purchase and designation of the land as a cemetery by 20 years. Originally called Robinson's Peak Cemetery, the burial ground contains the graves of other early settlers and their families. Veterans from every branch of the U.S. military were laid to rest here, as were the families of Mexican railroad workers in the early 20th century. An association organized in 1958 maintains the cemetery, which is still in use and remains a link to the history of Silver Valley. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

The first known grave here belongs to Helen A. Averitt, an early spiritual leader and educator buried in 1881, two decades before the land was formally designated a cemetery. Originally called Robinson's Peak Cemetery, it holds early settlers, veterans of every branch of the U.S. military, and the families of Mexican railroad workers who came to the region in the early 20th century. An association formed in 1958 keeps the still-active grounds.

Why it matters

The cemetery reflects how frontier settlers, soldiers, and immigrant railroad labor together built the ranching communities of West Texas.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related people

  • Β· Helen A. Averitt
  • Β· John C. Averitt

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

Robert M. Coleman

Coleman, TX

Kentucky-born Robert M. Coleman came to Texas in 1832 and threw himself into the revolution, commanding volunteers at the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. As a delegate he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 and then served as aide-de-camp to General Sam Houston at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. He later took up arms as a Texas Ranger on the frontier before his death in 1837.

Ruins of Camp Colorado

Coleman, TX

Camp Colorado was established by the U.S. Army to guard the Texas frontier against raids, moving to this site in 1856 before Federal troops abandoned it as the Civil War began in early 1861. In 1870 the land passed to Henry Sackett, who built his home on the old post grounds. From here in 1874 Sackett rode with Maltby's Rangers in pursuit of the Comanche bands of chiefs Big Foot and Jape.

Santa Anna Cemetery

Santa Anna, TX

When the Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1886, Santa Anna boomed as a cattle-shipping point, and this cemetery grew with itβ€”its oldest dated monument marking sixteen-year-old Mary Ashley, who died in 1885. Among the buried are the town's first station agent and Texas Rangers John R. Banister and John Benecke Bachman, along with veterans from the Civil War through Vietnam. Fraternal sections for Masons, Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World, and the Eastern Star reflect the social fabric of the community.

Route of Old Military Road

Santa Anna, TX

Opened in the 1850s, this military road carried supply trains and cavalry along the chain of U.S. forts that guarded the Texas frontier, running from Fort Belknap on the Brazos down toward Fort Mason and Fort Clark near the Rio Grande. Notable soldiers traveled its route, among them Col. Robert E. Lee, who a decade later would command Confederate armies. The road knit together the far-flung outposts meant to shield settlers.