Waverly Cemetery
New Waverly, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This cemetery is situated on the land originally purchased in 1853 by Mary M. Lewis, James E. Scott, Laura A. Scott, and Milly D. Scott. The first recorded burial was that of John Andrew Jackson (1822-1855), a pioneer settler of Waverly. Three gravestones dated 1852 indicate reinterments rather than earlier burials. Hamlin F. Lewis, John Elliot Scott, and Robert Lindsey Scott left Alabama for Texas but fell victim to cholera in 1852 and were buried along the way. Relatives of the men had their remains placed in this site in 1859. In 1857 Waverly Institute purchased 200 acres of land which included the burial ground. Through the efforts of Henry M. Elmore (1816-1879), president of Waverly Institute board of trustees, twelve acres were officially set aside for cemetery use in 1873. The town of Waverly was a cultural, educational, and religious center before the Civil War. When New Waverly was founded on the railroad in the 1880s, Waverly declined, but its cemetery remains in use. The burial ground has always been associated with the pioneer settlers of Waverly. In 1965 descendants of the settlers formed a cemetery association to maintain the site. (1978)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Set on land purchased in 1853, this cemetery holds the pioneer settlers of Waverly, including men who died of cholera on the journey from Alabama and were later reinterred here by their families. The nearby Waverly Institute set aside acreage for burials, and before the Civil War the town was a thriving cultural and educational center. When the railroad bypassed it in the 1880s and New Waverly rose instead, the old town faded—but its cemetery endures.
Why it matters
The graveyard is the last tangible trace of a once-vibrant antebellum Texas community that the coming of the railroad left behind.
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Related people
- · Henry M. Elmore
Themes & tags
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