San Marcos City Cemetery Tales and Tours Planned
The Friends of the San Marcos Cemetery and the Heritage Association of San Marcos are excited about the 4th Annual City Cemetery Tales and Tours that will be held on October 17, 2015. Tours will begin every 15 minutes 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Some of the San Marcos notables that will be featured include Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Tex Hughson, educator Gwen Smith, historian Tula Wyatt, inventor and innovator Ernest Cummings and many more.
The San Marcos Cemetery lies within the Mexican land grant acquired by Thomas J. Chambers in 1834. Chambers died in 1865 and in 1867 his widow, Abbey, sold 3,000 acres containing this site to H. N. Duble at an estate sale held in Galveston. A portion of the cemetery site was purchased by Freedman Peter Roberts in Galveston in 1868. Local tradition suggests that slaves of the area’s earliest settlers were buried here prior to the first recorded burial, that of Major C. Rogers in 1876.
The San Marcos Cemetery Association was organized in 1876 that year the association bought 10 acres here from Judy Covington Dixon and her husband, Shadrach Dixon. The City of San Marcos acquired the cemetery in 1924 and in 1964 a perpetual care trust fund was created by private citizens. Interred here are many pioneer settlers including War of 1812 veteran Louis Lawshe.
Tickets for the event are $10 for adults, $5 for students with children 12 and under free. Tickets are available at the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, 202 N. C.M. Allen Parkway, Main Street San Marcos Office, 317 N. LBJ Dr., First United Methodist Church 129 W Hutchison St. and the Cottage Kitchen (400 E Hopkins St) on Fridays (11 – 1) and at the gate the day of the event.
Sponsors of this year’s Walk include the Hays County Historical Commission, Kate Johnson, Broadway Bank. Tour San Marcos (San Marcos Convention and Visitor’s Bureau), Frost Bank, Kama Davis- Attorney, Ozona Bank, Del Prado Dietz PLLC, Dr. Ted and Thea Dake, The Frugal Undertaker.com, Pennington Funeral Home, Thomason Funeral Home, Wake the Dead Coffee Shop, McCoy’s Building Supply, Lea and Tim Rice, Jean and Jim Baggett, and Jane Hughson.
Proceeds from the event will help fund beautification projects in the cemetery. Tours will depart from the staging area near the entrance of the cemetery, located at 1001 Old Ranch Road 12. For more information go to www.sanmarcoscemetery.org or www.heritagesanmarcos.org.
