| |
| | The
Concrete Cemetery Gate
TE photo, April 2001 |
The
Community of Concrete no longer exists. It had originally been called Bethesda,
but for some reason, they decided to rename their town after an 1858 Concrete
building that served a variety of community functions such as church, Masonic
lodge and school. Still, it's a rather unusual naming - even for Texas.
Perhaps the word concrete was the final word in permanence in the 1850s.
The Concrete Cemetery was established in 1856 when Joel Newton,
the brother of rancher James Henry Newton died and James designated a part of
his property as a graveyard.
There had been an earlier burial the previous
year, which may have influenced Mr. Newton's decision. The very first interment
was a Maria Madden Dial.*
The cemetery
continues to serve both the communities of New
Berlin and LaVernia
today. It is extremely well kept with not a sign of vandalism. There's a sign-in
book is just inside the gate - placed in an ingeniously designed "desk" welded
of heavy steel. It provides a stable writing surface and the design makes it weatherproof
as well as bulletproof.
Unfortunately our camera's battery failed when
we were about to photograph it. The design would serve any cemetery well and we'll
try to return on our next visit to Guadalupe County. |
Concrete, Texas ForumCorrections:
I am Historian for the Concrete Cemetery in Guadalupe County, Texas. Joel Newton
was the first person buried in Concrete Cemetery, January 16, 1856. Maria Madden
Dial (1815 - 1855) has the oldest burial date in the cemetery but she was disinterred
from a cemetery in Louisiana after the death of her husband, James L. Dial, 8/4/1869
and reinterred in Concrete Cemetery adjacent to him. Many thanks, Shirley Grammer,
September 01, 2003
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