Wood-Verner Cemetery
Tyler, Smith County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The oldest known graveyard in the Dixie area, Wood-Verner Cemetery is named for two families who owned land surrounding the site. The earliest marked grave is that of John Gordon, who died in 1850. Affiliated with the local Methodist Church for much of its history, it now is maintained by a volunteer association. Among those interred here are pioneer settlers, Polish immigrants, former slaves, and at least two veterans of the Civil War. Many of the graves are unmarked. The cemetery serves as a visible reminder of the Dixie community's pioneer heritage.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Wood-Verner Cemetery, named for two landowning families, is the oldest known graveyard in Tyler's Dixie community, its earliest marked grave that of John Gordon in 1850. Long tied to the local Methodist church and now kept by a volunteer association, it holds a cross-section of frontier Texas: pioneer settlers, Polish immigrants, former slaves, and at least two Civil War veterans. Many of its graves are unmarked.
Why it matters
A single burial ground gathers the pioneers, immigrants, and freedpeople whose intertwined lives made up a Southern rural community, preserving voices often left out of the written record.
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Related people
- · John Gordon
Themes & tags
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