The Chappell Hill Masonic Cemetery, Chappell Hill, Texas. (original) (raw)

A view of the cemetery TE photo

There are three cemeteries in Chappell Hill, but we are featuring the Masonic cemetery since it contains most of the historic interments and it is the most picturesque. Signage on the main street will direct you to the cemetery which is just NW of town.

There is a marker for Jacob Haller, the cemetery's first interment, but the exact location of his grave is not known. Because of the unusual spelling of Chappell - many of the markers that were engraved out of the region have the standard Chapel spelling.

The Haller Marker TE photo

In addition to members of the Crockett and Travis clans being buried there, there are a few other things worthy of note:

The misspelling of Chappell Hill is even written in stone. Although members of the Chappell family have their name right, many tombstones are inscribed with Chapel Hill.

There are at least two graves decorated with seashells - a practice that dates to Roman times. In Texas graves decorated in this manner are found in Native American, African-American, Caucasian and Mexican cemeteries. An excellent book with more information on seashell graves and other burial practices is TEXAS GRAVEYARDS by Terry G. Jordan, University of Texas Press.

The Masonic Cemetery is an active one and plots are still sold. A clean and well-maintained restroom is available near the northern boundary.� John Troesser

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