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Tow Cemetery

Tow, Llano County, Texas

Marker Inscription

The 1850 death date of eight-year old Margaret R. Thorp, said to have died from a snakebite, documents the age of this burial ground in the community that formed around the Bluffton-Tow Saltworks. An obelisk with an 1846 date is a memorial for a Morgan family member buried elsewhere. John F. Morgan, a successful fur hatmaker, arrived here in 1853, the same year William Tow and family settled Tow Valley. A long tradition of caring for this site by area families is now overseen by an association formed in the 1950s. This cemetery remains as a chronicle of the pioneers and generations that are the Tow area's heritage. Historic Texas Cemetery 2001

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

The 1850 grave of eight-year-old Margaret Thorp, said to have died of a snakebite, marks the age of this burial ground in the community that grew around the Bluffton-Tow Saltworks. A successful fur hatmaker arrived in 1853, the same year William Tow and his family settled Tow Valley, and generations of area families have tended the graves ever since. An association formed in the 1950s continues that long tradition of care.

Why it matters

Tied to a pioneer saltworks and the earliest settlers of Tow Valley, this cemetery chronicles the hardscrabble frontier settlement of the Texas Hill Country before the Civil War.

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Related people

  • · William Tow
  • · John F. Morgan

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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