Wilson Cemetery
Grand Prairie, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This pioneer cemetery dates to 1872, when Charles N. Wilson buried his wife and infant child here. Ophelia E. West Wilson (1853-1872) and her newborn daughter died as a result of complications during childbirth. Third grave in the cemetery, that of the Bowlin infant, is unmarked. James W. and Mattie C. Bowlin buried their son here, since a public graveyard was not readily accessible to their home. The Wilson Cemetery contains only these three graves, but it is an important reminder of the ways of life in 19th century Tarrant County. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This small cemetery began in 1872 when Charles N. Wilson buried his wife, Ophelia, and their newborn daughter here after both died from complications of childbirth. A third grave, that of the Bowlin infant, is unmarked—laid to rest by parents who had no public graveyard nearby. With only three burials, the Wilson Cemetery is a spare but poignant record of everyday life and loss in nineteenth-century Tarrant County.
Why it matters
A tiny family plot like this one preserves the intimate realities of frontier life, where childbirth was perilous and families made their own burial grounds close to home.
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Related people
- · Charles N. Wilson
- · Ophelia E. West Wilson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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