Absalom H. Chivers Cemetery

Located 1050 ft. west of 1300 Block of N. Carroll Ave., Southlake
(north of Highland; marker is on private property and is not accessible by road.)

This cemetery was established for the family of Absalom H. Chivers, a prosperous farmer and stockman who came here from Mississippi about 1852. With the help of his five slaves, he operated a farm along Dove Creek until his death in 1856. Chivers' grave is thought to be the first in this burial ground, located on his original homestead. The land was set aside as a family cemetery in 1889 by his widow Eleanor (Joyce) Chivers (1816-1896), whose grave is believed to be the last placed here. Native sandstone cairns reflect some of the pioneer burial customs. (1982)

Ahavath Sholom Hebrew Cemetery

Located at 415 N. University, Fort Worth.

Wishing to have their own cemetery, congregation Ahavath Sholom, the first Jewish congregation in Fort Worth, purchased a six-acre tract from the Greenwood Cemetery Association at this location and dedicated Ahavath Sholom Hebrew Cemetery in 1909. A Ladies Cemetery Society was formed in that year to oversee the upkeep of the graveyard; Rebecca Goldstein served as its initial president. The first person buried here was Charles Hurwitz in 1910. In 1929 an agreement between the congregation and the Greenwood Cemetary Association resulted in the enlargement of this Jewish cemetary. Three soldiers who perished during World War II are buried side by side in the north section of the cemetery. A large monument memorializing the millions of Jewish victims of the German Nazi Regime in World War II Europe (1939-1945) was erected by members of the congregation who lost relatives in the Holocaust. The Kornbleet Chapel, which contains seating for one hundred persons, was dedicated in 1988. The chapel is used for funeral services as well as other religious services pertaining to the cemetery. The congregation established a trust fund for the long-term maintenance of the cemetery. (1993) (1992)

Arlington Cemetery

Located at Parkdale Cemetery, 801 Mary St., Arlington.

Encompassing more than ten acres of land Arlington Cemetery includes within its borders several small historic graveyards, including the original old cemetery of Arlington, the W. W. McNatt Cemetery addition, the Masonic Cemetery, and the Old City Cemetery. William W. McNatt, who brought his family here from Arkansas in 1872, was a retail merchant and large scale farmer in this area. He sold the cemetery property to the Arlington Cemetery Society in 1899. Another group, the Arlington Cemetery Association, was chartered in 1923 and maintained the graveyard for many years until the city of Arlington assumed ownership and maintenance. The oldest documented burial here is that of one-year-old Mattie Luna Cooper (1874-75), daughter of pioneer Arlington settlers J. D. and Luna Copper. Numerous other early settlers also are buried here, as are veterans of conflicts from the Civil War to World War II. Local officials interred in the graveyard include seven former postmasters and the following former mayors: M. J. Brinson, George M. Finger, Emmett E. Rankin, Williams C. Weeks, Thomas B. Collins, T. G. Bailey, W. H. Davis, Preston F. McKee, William H. Rose, and Will G. Hiett. (1994)

Arwine Cemetery

Located at 700 block of Arwine Court, Hurst.

Pioneer Daniel Arwine (1830-1887) migrated to Texas from Indiana in 1865. A deputy U.S. Marshall, Arwine deeded six acres for a school, church and cemetery in 1879. The schoolhouse served for worship services and gatherings. First burial in this cemetery was Arwine's daughter Katy (d. 1879). The grave of Enoch Sexton (d. 1890), an uncle of Arwin, has the oldest stone. Arwine, his wife and parents are among those buried in the 279 known graves. Relatives and local Boy Scouts have maintained the graveyard. In 1975 the Arwine Cemetery Association was organized. (1977)

Ash Creek Cemetery

Located at 310 S. Stewart St., Azle.

The oldest known graves in this community burial ground are those of Dave Morrison (1849-1874) and W. P. Gregg (1833-1874). Dr. James Azle Stewart, for whom Azle is named, and John Giles Reynolds, early grist mill operator, each donated an acre of land to establish the cemetery. Both Stewart and Reynolds are buried here. The Azle Cemetery Association was organized in 1922 to care for the site and to keep burial records. The Association bought additional land in 1932, 1947 and 1959 and constructed a tabernacle on the grounds. There are over 2,000 graves in Ash Creek Cemetery. (1985)

Ayres Cemetery

Located at 2500 block Scott St., Fort Worth.

In 1861 Benjamin Patton Ayres (ca. 1801-62) and his wife, Emily (Cozart) (ca. 1811-63), bought a 320-acre farm and set aside two acres on this hillside as a family cemetery. Ayres, who had served as the second Tarrant County clerk and who helped organize the Fort Worth First Christian Church, was the first buried here. An unknown number of graves, which lie outside the fenced family plot, include victims of spring fevers and Trinity River floods. None of their headstones have survived, but the Ayres Cemetery remains as a symbol of the area's early settlers. (1984)

Bear Creek Cemetery

Located at 1400 Minters Chapel Rd., Euless.

This cemetery was developed adjacent to the site of the Bear Creek Missionary Baptist Church, which was organized in 1853. The earliest marked grave is that of Hiram Jackson Farris (d. 1858), the infant son of G.W. and Mary Farris. Isham Crowley (1798-1878), who came to Texas as a member of Peters Colony, donated the burial ground and deeded it to church trustees in 1876. The congregation later moved to Dallas County and was renamed Western Heights Missionary Baptist Church. Still in use, Bear Creek Cemetery is the burial site of many eastern Tarrant County pioneers. (1980)

Bedford Cemetery

Located at 2400 Bedford Rd., Bedford.

Pioneers probably began using this graveyard during the 1860s. Earliest marked grave is that of Elizabeth White Bobo (1866-1871), whose parents came here in 1870 from Bedford County, Tenn. In 1877 Milton Moore deeded a five-acre tract, including this cemetery, to New Hope Church of Christ, now Bedford Church of Christ. The Bedford Church Old Settlers Reunion met here annually for over 50 years. W. L. Hurst (1833-1922), for whom nearby Hurst is named, is interred here. In 1975 the Bedford Cemetery Association acquired the site. Many Bedford pioneers are buried here in unmarked graves. (1979)

Site of Berachah Home and Cemetery

Located in Doug Russel Park, U.T.A. campus on Mitchel St., Arlington.

The Berachah Rescue Society was organized at Waco in 1894 by the Rev. J. T. Upchurch (b. 1870) for the protection of homeless girls and unwed mothers. Nine years later he opened the Berachah Industrial Home at this site. Ten buildings were located here, including a print shop publication of the "Purity Journal". The cemetery, which contains more than eighty graves, was first used in 1904 for the burial of Eunice Williams, one of the residents. The home closed in 1935, but the site was used until 1942 as an orphanage run by Upchurch's daughter Allie Mae and her husband Frank Wiese. (1981)

Birdville Cemetery

Located on Cemetery Rd., off 6100 block of E. Belknap, Haltom City.

The oldest marked grave in this pioneer community cemetery is that of Wiley Wilda Potts (Dec. 20, 1822 - Dec. 15, 1852). The one-acre tract, then part of the George Akers Grant, was legally set aside for burial purposes before 1860. More land was later donated, and by 1910 the site included 3.27 acres. Birdville Cemetery Association, organized under a 50-year charter in 1917, was rechartered in 1967. The cemetery contained 552 known graves in 1965. Several families have four generations buried here in the same plot. The site now encompasses seven acres and is still used for burials. (1975)

Bourland Cemetery

Located on Bourland Rd., Keller.

Aurelius Delphus Bourland (1840-1904), a North Carolina native and a veteran of the Civil War, bought land here in 1873. A farmer and Primitive Baptist preacher, he first used this site as a family cemetery. The earliest marked grave is that of his grandson A. Delphus White, who died in 1886. In 1899 Bourland sold 2.5 acres, including the grave sites, to the residents of Keller (1.5 mi SW) for use as a public burial ground. Additional land was given by the families of Bourland in 1947 and A.B. Harmonson (1891-1967) in 1977. The gateway was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. (1981)

Burke Cemetery

Located on Bryant Irvin Road south of the park, Fort Worth.

The first known burial in this graveyard was that of Mary (Overton) Burke, widow of Evan H. Burke, who came in 1851 with her children and widowed mother to settle this land previously chosen by her husband. Her death on Dec. 30, 1867, was followed two days later by that of her mother, Rachel (Cameron) Overton. On Mar. 12, 1900, this one-half acre of land was deeded as a family burial ground. Relatives of the Burkes include members of the Magers, Overton, and Edwards families. More than 100 marked and several unmarked graves have been recorded here. (1984)

Calloway Cemetery

Located at 12600 Calloway Cemetery Rd., Euless.

The earliest marked graves in this cemetery are those of two brothers, Richard H. Calloway (1832-1874) and Joseph W. Calloway (1829-1877), who owned this land in the 1860s. Richard's widow Catherine (Coble) deeded 1.5 acres here in 1886 for use as a public burial ground. The original site included the family cemetery and graves of several neighbors. The wooden Tabernacle was constructed in 1908. Families maintained the grounds until 1971 when a perpetual care fund was set up. Many pioneer settlers of eastern Tarrant County are buried here. (1980)

Chapel Cemetery

From Fort Worth take IH 35 17.5 miles north, then go east 0.7 of a mile on Keller-Haslet Road, then take old Denton Highway north 0.9 of a mile.

This cemetery traces its origin to the settlement here in the mid 1850s of the pioneer families of John A. and Rhoda Raibourn Fanning, Mitchell and Eliny Jane Raibourn, and Thomas Raibourn. According to Fanning family tradition the cemetery began with the burial of Eliny Raibourn at this site in 1856 and the subsequent donation of the land for cemetery purposes by her brother-in-law, John Fanning. Afterwards the site became known as the Fanning burying grounds. A one-room school house known as Horse Creek School or Lone Star School, located about a mile south of here, was the sole communal structure in this area until a chapel was built next to the burying ground. In 1893 T.A. and Catherine Sweet transferred ownership of the chapel and surrounding land to the Sweet Chapel Methodist Church, and the burying grounds became known as Sweet Chapel Cemetery. By 1938 the Sweet family had moved to Fort Worth, the chapel had disappeared, and the cemetery was known simply as Chapel Cemetery. Burials continued on an informal basis and for many years the graveyard was cared for by members of the Francisco family. The Cemetery was acquired by the Mount Olivet Cemetery Association in 1985. (1993)

Crowley Cemetery

Located at 300 N. Hampton, Crowley.

This burial ground originally served the early settlers of the Deer Creek area who began moving here about 1848. The earliest marked grave is that of Thomas D. Stephenson (1848-57), the eight-year-old son of I.N. Stephenson (d. 1883) who came to Tarrant County in the 1850s. The property was deeded for use as a public burial site in 1879 by Sarah J. "Sallie" Dunn. Originally known as Deer Creek Cemetery, the name was changed about 1880, shortly after the settlement of Crowley was organized along the route of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad. (1980)

Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery

Located at Mansfield Cemetery, on Burl Ray Rd.1/10 mile west of FM 917, Mansfield.

This site was first used as a burial ground shortly after the Civil War. The earliest legible gravestone is that of Julia Alice (Boisseau) Man (1843-68). Her husband Ralph S. Man and brother-in-law Julian Field founded Mansfield (originally spelled Mansfield). The burial site was deeded to the Mansfield congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1874. Graves include those of Civil War veterans and victims of the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. The oldest section in Mansfield Cemetery, the burial ground serves as a reminder of the area's earliest settlers. (1982)

Dido Cemetery

From Fort Worth, take Business 287 northwest about 12 miles. Then go west on Peden Road for about 3 miles. Then go north on Morris-Dido-Newark Road and continue about a mile to the Cemetery on the west side of the road.

The earliest marked grave in this cemetery is that of Amanda Thurmond (1878-1879), granddaughter of Dave Thurmond, who in 1848 first settled this area. Dempsey S. Holt donated three acres in 1887 for a school, church and cemetery. Dr. Isaac L. Van Zandt, a pioneer physician and Confederate veteran, deeded additional land in 1894. The Village of Dido was named for the mythological Queen of Carthage. A thriving community with a Post Office and stores, Dido declined after the railroad bypassed it in the 1890s. Among the 1,000 graves here are those of many pioneer families. (1977)

Emanuel Hebrew Rest Cemetery

Located at 1414 S. Main St., Fort Worth.

Fort Worth civic leader John Peter Smith donated land at this site in 1879 for use as a cemetery to serve the early Jewish residents of the City. Maintenance of the grounds was first provided by the Emanuel Hebrew Association, which was started by local families. The earliest marked grave is that of a child, Leah Kaiser, who died in 1879. Under the control of Congregation Beth-el since 1962, Emanuel Hebrew Rest Cemetery is the burial site of many prominent business, professional, and civic leaders of Fort Worth's Jewish community. (1981)

Everman Cemetery

Located at 800 E. Enon St., Everman.

Settlement of the area, first called Enon, began about 1847. After the railroad was built in 1903, the townspeople relocated to be near the rail line and renamed their community Everman for a railroad official. This Cemetery was established in 1882 by R.E. Morris, whose wife Rosa (Josie) Vaughn, died on May 16 and was interred on the family farm. Called the Morris Graveyard for many years, the cemetery was eventually renamed to reflect its use as a community burial ground. The original Morris Graveyard portion is in the southwest section of the cemetery. (1994)

Ford Cemetery

Located at 602 Fountain Parkway, Grand Prairie.

Pinkney Harold Ford (1831-1901) was the leader of a Kentucky family who migrated to Texas in 1855. They settled in the area of North Arlington, then known as the Watson Community. John J. Goodwin held the original patent to this cemetery property. The oldest marked grave is that of Maria Trayler (b. 1799), who died in 1858. Ford, a Civil War veteran, purchased this property in 1879 and designated this site as a community burial ground. He and wife Elizabeth (d. 1898) farmed land nearby. Industrial development has surrounded this remnant of the pioneer community. (1982)