Land Cemetery
View listing and photos
| Cemetery Name | Land Cemetery |
| Alternate Names | |
| Directions | Head north from Georgetown on I-35. Take the Jarrell exit and cross over freeway. Head west on W Ave I for .3 mi. Turn right on N 1st St and travel .6 mi. 1st St turns into CR 307; continue for another .6 mi until it intersects with CR 305. Turn left on CR 305 and travel for 1.1 mi. There will be a sign for Land Cemetery on the right (north) side of the road. Turn left (south) at the sign onto a gravel lane. This lane travels south for about .4 mi and makes a right turn that leads to the gate of the cemetery at the top of the hill. |
| Latitude | 30°49'43.33"N |
| Longitude | 97°37'48.73"W |
| Restrictions | |
| Survey Date | March 2009 |
| Photographed by | Carolyn Cobb, Shirley Villoni and Susan Goldsworthy |
| Surveyed by | Carolyn Cobb, Shirley Villoni and Susan Goldsworthy |
| Comments |
Narrative History for Land Cemetery provided by Dean Duncan |
View of the cemetery in early spring
NARRATIVE HISTORY AND LOCAL CONTEXT
As described in the Williamson County Records, Book 42, Page 356, the cemetery now known as the “Land Cemetery” was officially formed on April 1, 1886 when the citizens of the Salado Valley, Williamson County, Texas, collected $131.65 and conveyed these funds to N. R. Land and wife E. A. Land, R. K. Shaver and wife M. L. Shaver, and J. B. Shaver and wife Bell Shaver for the purchase of 2.24 acres of land for a “burying ground”. The original trustees were listed as G. B. Buchanan, W. P. Routon, and J. W. Robertson. Of interest is that M. L. (Mary Lewis) Shaver, the wife of R. (Rufus) K. Shaver, was the daughter of N. R. and E. A. Land.
In the many years since the origin of the cemetery over 250 citizens of the Salado Valley in Williamson County have been buried there, including these of the original persons involved: Nicholas R. Land and his wife Elizabeth A. Land, W. P. Routon and his wife
J. A. M. (on gravestone inscription).
There are twenty-five grave stones with death dates prior to the formal opening of the cemetery on April 1, 1886. This indicates that the “burying ground” was in use for at least twenty years before the signing of the deed. The five earliest known graves have stones with death dates in the 1860s:
James Biggs, died 1862, age 1 year
Lucy Denson, died Feb. 20, 1863, age 2 years
John J. Land died Dec. 15, 1863, age 24 years (son of N. R. and E. A. Land)
Nicholas R. Land, Jr., died Mar. 8, 1864, age 15 years (son of N. R. and E. A. Land)
James M. Riggs, died Oct. 10, 1867, age 6 years.
Perhaps because two sons of Nicholas R. Land (by a previous marriage) were already buried there, the cemetery came to be known as the “Land Cemetery” and it has remained to the present. Genealogical research shows that during the early years of the cemetery’s existence, there was much intermarriage between the Land, Shaver, Roe, Lewis, Gillespie, and probably other area families. The cemetery is still an active part of the lives of today’s citizens of this area and their families.
There has been a succession of Trustees for the Cemetery Association, all descendants of the pioneer families of this area. The Cemetery Association has been incorporated by the Texas Secretary of State as a non-profit corporation, having five Trustees. One Trustee, Doyle D. Langenegger, lives near the cemetery and is currently the custodian of day to day activities. All others live within convenient driving distance to the cemetery.
The cemetery is surrounded by agricultural land for crops and cattle grazing. A wire fence around the property is maintained by the adjacent landowners. Access is by way of a graveled lane identified by a street sign “LAND CEMETERY” off County Road 305 about two miles from the center of the town of Jarrell, which is on Interstate 35 about 15 miles north of Georgetown, TX.
Near the cemetery entrance are five "box graves" made of native stone slabs pictured below. The boxes are approx. 2.5' wide by 3.5' long. There is a large rectangular stone slab covering each box. The boxes sit on top of the ground and are approx. 2' high. There is no inscription on any of the boxes.
