Childhood memory. - maybe Gunny can add more - from his part of the world.

The Burkhardt Cemetery was on the opposite end of the block where I lived from 1974-1976. It is in the Canyon Lake Hills subdivision on the south side of the west end of Canyon Lake. We would take walks around this large block in the evenings and pass by it. Always intrigued me at the age of the graves. This was just one and two years after losing my father, so cemeteries became part of my life at a young age..


There are the only grave markers. There is family history for them on Findagrave,com/Ancestry.com



Georg
Birth29 Feb 1824
Germany
Death31 Mar 1886 (aged 62)
Cranes Mill, Comal County, Texas, USA

Anna Burkhardt
Birth15 May 1823
Germany
Death13 Jan 1908 (aged 84)
Cranes Mill, Comal County, Texas, USA




There is an inscription on the bottom of Georg's marker in what i believe is German. Someone translated and put it on the webpage.



HERE RESTS
GEORG BURKHARDT
DOWN THERE IS PEACE
IN THE EARTHY HOME
HERE SLEEPS YOUR BODY
HERE HE RESTS FROM LIFE
DOWN HERE ON EARTH THE
BATTLE WAS OFTEN DIFFICULT
NOW REST IN PEACE
IN THE BLESSED EARTH

COURTESY OF KLEO HALM


These graves are at the top of a limestone hill and were basically dug into the caliche and limestone bedrock. Website says it is well kept. Not much to keep up as what little rain does fall, runs off and nothing grows in the caliche/rocks.

FamousAgg said:

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Went and took a few photos, it's been neglected pretty bad. After we move and tackle 1000 other projects this would be nice to tackle. I wonder if an Eagle Scout needs a project.

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Given the condition, unless you want to start taking care of it, I would seriously consider hiring an attorney and begin the process of petitioning the court (it may be county or district, depending on the code section followed, hence the need for an attorney) to remove them to another location that will take them. It will cost you some money -- attorneys fees, potential removal costs, etc. -- but in the long run you'll be free of it and won't have to worry about anyone wanting to get permission to come on there. Plus, they'll be in a more accessible place.

Not saying I'll do it, but I could just let nature take its course. It's not as if I'm legally required to upkeep it? Eventually it would just become a thick grove of trees and bushes, it's already got trees about 10" in diameter among the headstones.

The property is already 90% wooded, it would eventually just kind of blend in.

FamousAgg said:

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Not saying I'll do it, but I could just let nature take its course. It's not as if I'm legally required to upkeep it? Eventually it would just become a thick grove of trees and bushes, it's already got trees about 10" in diameter among the headstones.

The property is already 90% wooded, it would eventually just kind of blend in.

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I would do this or maintain it to the same degree as the rest of my place which includes a mowing about once a year at the most. Leave the gate open and let the horses eat it down.

Reel Aggies said:

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There's a little cemetery plot in Kerrville between the wal mart parking lot and the discount tire At least you had a view of the Guadalupe until they built a Canes chicken on the water

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Starkey family. One of the descendants sold the land to Walmart and Discount Tire and the protection of the cemetery was part of the development agreement.

Is there any reason you couldn't (carefully) apply some ground clearance herbicide like those used by utilities to maintain ROWs? Do it once a year and it'll never get out of control.

I think that's going to have to be my initial approach, I see lots of briars and poison ivy (I'm very allergic), several headstones are almost completely covered, so who knows what else is covered. I'm wondering if there aren't more graves than the 7 listed on find a grave.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Is there any reason you couldn't (carefully) apply some ground clearance herbicide like those used by utilities to maintain ROWs? Do it once a year and it'll never get out of control.

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A soil sterilant would kill the grass, don't want that. Heavy shot of Roundup and 2,4-D mix would be a good start toward knocking stuff back. Something like Banvel would be better, since I see a lot of large, woody plants.

Once its knocked back, stop with the roundup and use a herbicide that kills broadleaves and lets grass grow (2,4-D)

If we're posting unique cemeteries, I'll show this one I used to drive by on my way to work. 183 west in Irving.

Found this article about it, local news story. Now it always sticks out to me when I drive by. It must have been on a hill before all the highways and roads were there. Definitely raises the interesting discussion of whether these plots of land should be kept or maintained, etc.

FamousAgg said:

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I think that's going to have to be my initial approach, I see lots of briars and poison ivy (I'm very allergic), several headstones are almost completely covered, so who knows what else is covered. I'm wondering if there aren't more graves than the 7 listed on find a grave.

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Ground-penetrating radar might help determine the likelihood (and location) of unmarked graves. Call around to the archaeology professors at universities and see if they would want to use the site for some practical ground-penetrating radar work. Old cemeteries almost always have unmarked graves.

challenger21 said:

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If we're posting unique cemeteries, I'll show this one I used to drive by on my way to work. 183 west in Irving.

Found this article about it, local news story. Now it always sticks out to me when I drive by. It must have been on a hill before all the highways and roads were there. Definitely raises the interesting discussion of whether these plots of land should be kept or maintained, etc.

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Another one similar to that - The Wunsche Family Cemetery sits between the feeder and I-45 in Spring.

Dont think I've seen this one mentioned, located in Hearne in the middle of the road. Kind of a sad story. https://texashighways.com/travel-news/roadside-oddity-the-lone-grave-in-hearne/

Mentioned by CS78 on the first page but fun to look at no matter what.

These stranded graves really do reinforce my desire to just be cremated and avoid all the pomp and circumstance. The world moves on and we will fade to irrelevance.

young eugene said:

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Dont think I've seen this one mentioned, located in Hearne in the middle of the road. Kind of a sad story. https://texashighways.com/travel-news/roadside-oddity-the-lone-grave-in-hearne/

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@cs78 did on the first page.

I grew up playing baseball with buddies in this little park in Bryan which as an old graveyard in the middle of it. There were more than a few baseballs lost inside here.

There was barbed wire at the top of the fence so you didn't climb it and you couldn't see in well so I don't recall how old the graves are but found this pic:



https://maps.app.goo.gl/i3gpamxNdmwywK1b6

Glad to see I'm not the only weirdo who finds old graves and cemeteries to be interesting. Weekends at A&M, instead of studying, I would often explore the back roads. Once, in the woods east of College Station, I stumbled across what I assumed to be a cemetery for an old black church. Not kept up, crude markers, etc. One stone was homemade from concrete, and laid flat.

"The Infent of (names of parents)"

Yes, that was the spelling. I used to have a photo, but lost a lot of pics from that time in a move.

I just found it very sad.

Union Chapel Cemetery, Loraine, Texas, Mitchell County.

This is about a mile and half southeast of Lone Wolf Mountain, which is said to be the burial place of an Indian chief. My grandparents were farming near Lone Wolf Mountain at the time, and lost a baby girl in 1927. Died the day she was born. Dad was born two years later.



https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lone-wolf-mountain

Quote:

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Lone Wolf Mountain.Lone Wolf Mountain is four miles north of Loraine in northeastern Mitchell County (at 3228' N, 10045' W). Its peak, at an elevation of 2,460 feet above sea level, is the highest elevation in the county and rises 110 feet above Farm Road 1982 to the immediate north. The mountain is named for Kiowa chief Lone Wolf. Local historians assert that it was the site where in the spring of 1874 Chief Lone Wolf buried the remains of his favorite son, Tau-ankia (Sitting-in-the-Saddle), and his nephew, Guitan (Heart-of-a-Young-Wolf). One Harvey Muns, during a dedication of a county historical marker at the site, told of the time in 1902 when he witnessed fires on top of the mountain. He said that two wagonloads of Oklahoma Indians encamped there, stayed about five days, and left a large hole in the mountain. Local legend claims that the Indians came in 1902 to recover the bones that had been buried there some twenty-eight years before.

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Minter's Chapel Cemetery

On the grounds of DFW airport.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cui7XTv2dfG1v3bq5



Bear Creek Cemetery is also close, but not within the airport fence

Risher Family Cemetery, Dawson County, Texas

Burials in 1907 and 1908, Not much known, stories are a family who was just passing through, perhaps in a wagon.



https://www.txgenwebcounties.org/dawson/risherfamily.htm

https://maps.app.goo.gl/FnSN2SMUpt2RdiQu9

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=92008

This one is nearby to Minters but is actually within the DFW fence now. There's a number you can call to cross the gate and go check it out, but it doesn't look like there's any traces left.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8444022,-97.0612039,3a,15.4y,70.07h,86.56t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smslCvXPYdIR_WokjMnjaFw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D3.4420039297653773%26panoid%3DmslCvXPYdIR_WokjMnjaFw%26yaw%3D70.07403098276686!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Baby+Head+Cemetery/@30.8871308,-98.6567461,3a,16.1y,76.51h,82.61t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1svhohStU-MbdkATO0Z_LYcg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D7.387981337788105%26panoid%3DvhohStU-MbdkATO0Z_LYcg%26yaw%3D76.50623125837576!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x865a5cac6d7361e3:0x1870e81ae50bdfe7!8m2!3d30.887618!4d-98.6560954!16zL20vMGdmYmtt?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Baby Head Cemetery north of Llano. The story goes that Indians captured a white girl and her body was later found on top of this mountain. Some accounts say that the story was made up, and some even say that it was the white settlers that did the killing and blamed it on the Indians. Could also be the name for the community that popped up at the headwaters of a small branch (baby head) of the nearby Llano river. Classic hill country story though.

Cemetery is interesting. My dad and I walked around here this spring when we drove through Llano. Really old 19th century head stones with fascinating stories on them, and even a grave that was buried in 2024, and the dirt still looked fresh.

I came across a cemetery near Lake Somerville many years ago. I think it was between Welch Park and the Marina. Anyone else see this one? I'd like to see it again some day.

Single headstone that gets plowed around out by Mumford. No fence or anything.

https://www.bing.com/maps?&ty=18&q=30.71384256326789%2C-96.57519664405639&mb=30.714187~-96.575871~30.713498~-96.57452&cardbg=%23F98745&dt=1745546400000&tt=77859%2C%20US&tsts0=%2526ty%253D18%2526q%253D30.71384256326789%25252C-96.57519664405639%2526mb%253D30.714187~-96.575871~30.713498~-96.57452%2526cardbg%253D%252523F98745%2526dt%253D1745546400000&tstt0=77859%2C%20US&cp=30.713842~-96.575358&lvl=21.03&style=h&pi=0&ftst=0&ftics=False&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027

BlueMiles said:

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I came across a cemetery near Lake Somerville many years ago. I think it was between Welch Park and the Marina. Anyone else see this one? I'd like to see it again some day.

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Your best bet is to start here, and see if any of the cemeteries listed match your memory.

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery-browse/USA/Texas/Burleson-County?id=county_2545

Thank you!

On more than one occasion in college we'd "kidnap" guys and drop them in the old Kurten Cemetery. Which, in the mid/late-90's felt much more remote and creepy.

tu ag said:

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Can I ask a favor from one of y'all? Since there are several posters on this thread that know how to track down the history of a cemetery, could you check on the one at 161 Wellborn Rd, College Station, TX 77840? Thanks.

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Solid work