White Hall Cemetery
Woodway, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
White Hall Cemetery is the last vestige of the once growing agricultural community of White Hall. The first graves, marked in 1877, are located north of the White Hall Baptist Church site on land deeded by Capt. Burl Jones Kendrick (1824-1912). A Civil War veteran who owned 320 acres in the area. In 1899, Capt. Kendrick deeded an additional 1.1 acres to the trustees of the White Hall Graveyard for the price of one dollar. Pioneers of the White Hall community are buried at this, the first Baptist cemetery in the area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
White Hall Cemetery is all that remains of a once-thriving farming community in McLennan County. Its earliest marked graves date to 1877 on land deeded by Civil War veteran Capt. Burl Jones Kendrick, who owned 320 acres nearby and in 1899 gave an additional acre to the graveyard's trustees for a single dollar. As the first Baptist cemetery in the area, it holds the pioneers who built and buried a vanished community.
Why it matters
When a town disappears, its cemetery often becomes the last witness to the settlers who once made the land their home, preserving names history might otherwise forget.
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Related people
- ยท Burl Jones Kendrick
Themes & tags
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