Concrete, Texas, and Concrete Cemetery, Guadalupe County. (original) (raw)

	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.* [See Corrections.]

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.

Corrections:

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

Historical Marker: 2 miles N of La Vernia on Fm 775

Concrete Cemetery

Encompassing 6.814 acres of land, Concrete Cemetery includes within its borders burials for both Anglo and Hispanic citizens of the La Vernia and New Berlin communities. The area surrounding the cemetery was called Concrete (formerly Bethesda). Local farmer and rancher James Henry Newton, who brought his family here from Mississippi about 1851-52, designated a portion of his property as a burial ground when his brother Joel died in 1856. The oldest recorded burial, that of Maria Madden Dial in 1855, indicates previous use as a graveyard.

The community and cemetery were named for an 1858 concrete building used as a school, church and Masonic Hall. James Newton officially deeded a two-acre tract of land here in 1875 for use as a community cemetery. The first documented burial in the adjacent Hispanic section is that of Paulita Salazar in 1913. Additional donations of land were made by the descendants of J. G. and Jennie Scull.

The graveyard contains a diverse collection of gravestones reflecting the historic communities it serves. Among the more than 800 burials here are pioneer settlers, infants and children, veterans and members of fraternal organizations. The site continues to serve the area.

(1997)[ More Texas Cemeteries » ]

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