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Texas
Cemetery
Glenwood
Cemetery – A Gated Community
Houston,
Texas
or
Necropolis of the Metropolis
by John Troesser
Washington Avenue, West of downtown and
East of Studewood
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The Glenwood Cemetery Office and
Elgin Plot
Photo by John Troesser |
While
working on this issue’s Elgin
article, we decided to visit the gravesite of the town’s namesake,
Robert Morris Elgin. The Elgin Family Plot is located in Houston’s
Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Avenue. At one time this was Washington
Road and connected Houston proper with Camp Logan, a WW I Army training
facility that is now Memorial Park.
Upon entering the Cemetery, Houstonians will immediately recognize
many familiar names. Allen, Binz, Cummings, Foley, and Settegast to
name a few. Like the Elgin name, most have streets named after them
in varying degrees of magnitude and asphalt.
Besides being a final resting-place for Houston’s former VIPs, Glenwood
also contains the earthly remains of Dr. Anson Jones, the last President
of the Republic of Texas. Glenwood is also a showplace for late 19th
and early 20th century funerary monuments.
Houston
Hotels > Book Your
Hotel Here & Save |
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We went to the office (a charming Victorian
cottage formally used as the caretaker’s residence) to see if they
had a directory, and they did. The Elgin plot seemed close, but
the map wasn’t to scale. After a few minutes of wading through squirrels,
we were back just a headstone’s throw from the door of the office.
Although the surrounding grass was thin, inside the Elgin space
it grew as if fertilized. You might say, "the plot thickened",
then again, you might not want to say that.
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or whatever John Brown’s body was doing in that old song. And he was
doing it right next to his daughter! She died in Saltillo, Mexico,
and I suspect there is an interesting story there. The Elgin Courier’s
account of that would be in storage, so it will take a more persistent
or curious detective than yours truly to write that saga. |
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Detail
of the Angel in the Hill Family plot.
Photo by John Troesser, May 2003 |
The
Old and the Restful
Shrouded
obelisks (symbols of lives cut short), weeping
Angels and willows are nearly as abundant as squirrels, but executed
several degrees finer than you’ll find in most cemeteries. An art
deco Diana and an elaborate Egyptian motif plot add variety as the
road winds and dips through this unintended arboretum. The southern
boundary surprises you with the sudden appearance of Memorial Parkway,
and off to the left at a distance is the abandoned Jefferson Davis
hospital. Once known as ‘the baby factory" because it was the
County’s primary maternity hospital, there is an irony that it would
overlook the city’s pantheon. Eat your vegetables, pick up your toys,
make friends, marry well, vote, pay your taxes, provide for your heirs
and we’ll bury you across the street. |
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The
Weeping Angel in Glenwood Cemetery
showing vandalism to the left arm.
Photo by John Troesser, May 2003 |
Dead
Folks – Live Oaks
Houston
has many beautiful examples of Live Oak Trees, but one of the most
beautiful specimens is near the SE corner of Glenwood. The spread
of the tree comes close to that of the Goose
Island Oak in Rockport, the Champion Live Oak in Texas. The branching
pattern is "text book", growing conditions are ideal and
if your compost is as rich, then the police might want to talk to
you. Recently the tree has been cabled, which detracts from it’s natural
elegance, but it’s a precaution that is usually thought of too late. |
A Doctor with
a Heart of Stone
The
famed heart surgeon and humanitarian, Dr. Denton Cooley was once photographed
in the Houston Medical Center standing beside a beautiful stylized
heart sculpted from exotic wood. A larger replica of this heart, carved
from marble graces the Cooley Family plot. |
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to the current care-taking provided by Glenwood Cemetery Inc. Glenwood
was plagued by vandals. A particularly destructive rampage left shattered
an exquisite angel that had stood over the grave of florist Leonard
Tharp. Perhaps this was the incident that caused the awareness of
vulnerability and prompted the current protective measures. The cemetery
is open seven days, dawn to dusk. |
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