The Tobey Community Cemetery
Marble Falls, Burnet County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Nat Tobey family moved from Indiana to northeast Burnet County in the 1850s. Sons Avery and Samuel bought land here in Backbone Valley in 1868. At the death of N. W. Tobey, aged 12, this cemetery was opened in 1872. A church and school stood nearby, serving people of the ranches and farms of the valley. Within a century, over 200 graves were placed in this burial ground. In 1964 Tobey Cemetery Association was formed to care for the one remaining community landmark, since church and school were phased out in the 20th century. (1976)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Nat Tobey family came from Indiana to Burnet County's Backbone Valley in the 1850s, and sons Avery and Samuel bought land here in 1868. When twelve-year-old N. W. Tobey died in 1872, this hillside became a cemetery serving the surrounding ranches and farms, near a church and school that anchored the little community. Over a century more than 200 graves were laid here, and in 1964 an association formed to preserve the last surviving landmark of a valley settlement.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of a vanished rural community, a reminder of the family farms and ranches that settled the Texas Hill Country.
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Related people
- · Nat Tobey
- · Avery Tobey
- · Samuel Tobey
Themes & tags
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