W.W. Glover Cemetery
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early Dallas County settler George W. Glover acquired this land in 1844. The property was first used as a cemetery for the interment of five-year old Sarah Beeman who died on Mar. 22, 1857. In 1872 Glover deeded the property to his son William Wald Glover (1846 - 1928) for whom the cemetery was named. Among those buried here are the younger Glover and early Dallas settler and civic leader Richard Lagow. This community burial ground, which contains over 70 gravesites of pioneer settlers and their families, was last used in 1951. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When George W. Glover acquired this Dallas County land in 1844, Texas was barely a decade past its revolution and still a sparsely settled frontier. The ground became a burial place in 1857 with the interment of five-year-old Sarah Beeman, and Glover later deeded it to his son William Wald Glover, for whom the cemetery is named. More than seventy pioneer families rest here, including early civic leader Richard Lagow, in a community graveyard used until 1951.
Why it matters
Pioneer cemeteries like this one preserve the names and lineages of the ordinary settlers who built early Dallas County, anchoring a booming modern city to its frontier roots.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
When George W. Glover acquired this land in 1844, Texas was still an independent republic, only eight years past its revolution against Mexico. The settlement that would become Dallas was only a few years old, and the country around it was mostly prairie, creek bottoms and scattered homesteads. Annexation to the United States came in 1845, and Dallas County was organized the next year.
The early Dallas settlers lived in a hard world. Families built cabins, broke sod, and raised crops and livestock far from established towns. Sickness, accidents and childbirth took many lives, and children were especially at risk. Burial grounds like this one were often started on private land, where the first grave was frequently that of a family member or neighbor.
The cemetery's timeline runs alongside Dallas's rise. The same year Glover deeded the land to his son, 1872, the railroad reached Dallas and began turning a frontier town into a commercial hub. By the time the last burial took place here in 1951, Dallas had grown into a major American city.
People & events
George W. Glover was one of the early settlers who came to Dallas County when it was still frontier. For more than a decade his land was simply land. Then, in March 1857, a five-year-old girl named Sarah Beeman died, and she became the first person buried here. The Beeman name belongs to one of the county's early settler families. The marker does not name her parents or say how she died. Her small grave is the reason this place became a cemetery.
In 1872 Glover gave the property to his son, William Wald Glover, and the cemetery carries his name. Born in 1846, the same year Dallas County was organized, William lived until 1928, long enough to watch the frontier he grew up in become a thriving city. He is buried here among the neighbors and family he knew.
Also buried here is Richard Lagow, remembered on the marker as an early Dallas settler and civic leader. In all, more than seventy graves hold pioneer settlers and their families. The last burial took place in 1951, and the historical marker was placed in 1983.
Its place in the American story
The W. W. Glover Cemetery is a small window onto how American cities began. Before Dallas had skyscrapers, highways and suburbs, it was a cluster of farms and families like these. Their private family cemeteries became community burial grounds, the first shared public spaces of a region that did not have churchyards or city cemeteries yet.
It also marks the move from the Republic of Texas to American statehood and the westward expansion that followed. The settlers buried here lived through annexation, the Civil War, the coming of the railroad and Dallas's rapid growth. Their lives link the frontier era to modern America.
Finally, the cemetery reminds us whose stories usually last. Famous founders get statues. Ordinary families, and especially children like Sarah Beeman, are remembered only if someone protects the ground where they rest. Pioneer cemeteries across the country preserve that everyday history, and it is easily lost when cities grow over it.
If you visit
Expect a small, quiet burial ground surrounded by a busy modern city. The contrast is part of the experience. Walk slowly and look for the older stones, some of which may be worn, broken or hard to read after more than a century and a half. Look for the Glover family graves and think of Sarah Beeman, the child whose burial in 1857 started it all.
This is a resting place for about seventy pioneer families, so visit respectfully. Stay on paths where possible, do not rub or climb on fragile old headstones, and leave the site as you found it.
The cemetery makes a moving stop on a Dallas history outing. Pair it with visits to the city's museums and historic districts, and use it as a counterweight to downtown's towers. Before the skyline, before the railroad boom, there were families here who farmed this land and buried their dead on it.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · George W. Glover
- · William Wald Glover
- · Richard Lagow
- · Sarah Beeman
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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