This is a unique cemetery. When State Senator Edward Burleson died in December of 1851,Andrew Jackson Hamilton donated the 21 acres that comprise the cemetery to the state of Texas so that Burleson could be buried here. It became the Texas State Cemetery in 1854. After the Civil War the State took over the home for Confederate veterans and they buried the veterans along with their generals in the cemetery.
In 1910 Stephen Austin was moved to the Texas State Cemetery. In the 1920s Louis Kemp spearheaded a drive to have as many prominent former Texans reinterred in the cemetery. Starting in 1929 with the former governors James Pickney Henderson and Peter Hansborough Bell over 70 men and woman were moved into the cemetery. In appreciation for his efforts the cemetery road was declared a highway and named Lou Kemp Rd and it is Texas Highway 165, the shortest highway in Texas.
We began at the visitor center which was built in 1997 to resemble the long barracks at the Alamo. We picked up maps and then headed over to the museum. What is particularly interesting about this cemetery is that all the monuments aren’t grave stones some of them are cenotaphs (memorial markers), so not everyone whose stone you see is actually buried here, case in point Former Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Tom Landry.
The is a very well organized cemetery and though not beautiful in the same sense as Glenwood cemetery, it makes up for that by its vast historical significance.
We headed down highway 165 to the only allowed parking area which is on top of the hill. Just our luck it was bitter cold with a biting wind when we were there but we still managed to enjoy poking around and trying to identify as many of the graves as possible.
One that is hard to miss is the Elizabeth Ney sculpture of Albert Sidney Johnston. He was a general for three countries, The Republic of Texas, The United States and the Confederacy. He was killed at the Battle of Shiloh. His monument is amazing.
The Stephen Austin Monument and the Joanna Troutman Monument were both done by Pompeo Coppini. Joanna Troutman was known as the Betsy Ross of Texas She created a flag that was carried to Goliad by Colonel Fannin and raised as the National Flag when the Declaration of Independence from Mexico was signed.
Reading the gravestones is like a who’s who of Texas History. We found Governor John Connally of JFK assassination fame. We found Barbara Jordan the first African American Woman elected to the Texas Senate.
Some we didn’t know like Susanna Dickenson Hannig one of the woman who survived the Alamo and as her stone says “Carried the news to General Houston at Gonzales”. She has a new stone in the shape of the state of Texas.
Entrance is free. Allow as much time as your interest dictates. We spent at least an hour.