History of the Cemetery

The Beginning

1851

The first person buried at the Texas State Cemetery was Edward Burleson. Burleson served many roles in the early history of Texas, from the days of colonization to the struggle for independence to the Republic of Texas era and into statehood. He laid out the town of Waterloo (which would later become Austin) as its surveyor, fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, served as vice president of the Republic of Texas and died while serving as state senator.

The day after his death in December of 1851, a committee was convened in the Texas House of Representatives to plan his funeral. House member Andrew Jackson Hamilton donated 21 acres of his personal property in East Austin to serve as Burleson’s final burial ground. It was not until 1854 that the state of Texas appropriated money to purchase the land and erect a monument on Burleson’s grave.

Edward Burleson

December 15, 1798 - December 26, 1851

Portrait of Edward Burleson, the first individual buried at the Texas State Cemetery in 1851.

A Slow Start

Mid-1800s

Edward Burleson was the only individual buried on at the Cemetery until Texas Supreme Court Justice Abner S. Lipscomb was buried there in 1856. From 1856 to 1866 a handful of burials took place there including a few Republic of Texas era figures and politicians, as well as some prominent Civil War officers including Generals William Scurry and August Buchel.

The most prominent Civil War officer with Texas ties to be buried at the State Cemetery is General Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston served as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas, later served in the United States Army and died as a Confederate General at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. He was interred in New Orleans for the duration of the war. The Texas Legislature appropriated money to have him reinterred at the State Cemetery in 1867. Many of Johnston’s fellow Confederate generals such as Ben McCulloch, William P. Hardeman, Adam Rankin “Stovepipe” Johnson, and Xavier Debray would eventually join Johnston at the State Cemetery.

Albert Sidney Johnston

February 2, 1803 - April 6, 1862

Portrait of Albert Sidney Johnston from shortly before the Civil War.

Legacy of the Civil War

Late 1800s

In 1871, the Legislature authorized the Cemetery’s sexton to purchase headstones inscribed with the names and dates of birth and death of those buried at the Cemetery; the cost of each headstone could not exceed $40 dollars. Not long after, rank and file soldiers of the Confederacy were allowed to be buried in the same cemetery as their former officers. Many of those soldiers were former residents of the Texas Confederate Home which was founded by private donations in 1884 as a home for disabled and indigent Confederate veterans; it became a state-funded entity in 1891. The first of those burials took place in 1884 and they continued well into the 1900s. In 1908, a Confederate Woman’s Home was founded in Austin to care for the widows and wives of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers, and those women were eligible for burial in the Cemetery upon their deaths. In total, approximately 2,000 Confederate soldiers and 200 Confederate widows are interred at the Cemetery and on each of their graves, still present to this day, are their original $40 headstones.

Undated image of the south end of the Texas State Cemetery - Barnes Collection – Texas State Cemetery Archive

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Burial of Stephen F. Austin

Early 1900s

Thirty-five years after Albert Sidney Johnston’s return to Texas, artist Elisabet Ney was commissioned to construct a monument for him. In 1905, she created a life-sized white marble statue of Johnston on his deathbed, housed in a small gothic-themed enclosure. Sixty years after the initial plan to reinter Stephen F. Austin at the State Cemetery, in 1910, the Legislature allocated funds to bring the remains of the “Father of Texas” to the city named for him and to erect a monument in his honor. Prominent Sculptor Pompeo Coppini was enlisted to make a likeness of Austin which still sits atop his gravesite today. After Austin, the reinterments of Joanna Troutman and General John Wharton were initiated and encouraged by Governor O. B. Colquitt (1910-1915). During this time the caretaker’s cottage at the Cemetery was built and a general beautification of the grounds took place as trees, shrubs, and flowers were planted. Infrastructure work took place as well, including the installation of a drainage system and road improvements.

Artist Elisabet Ney posed in front of her memorial sculpture of General Albert Sidney Johnston – Unknown Source - Texas State Cemetery Archive

A Golden Centennial

1920s and 1930s

The 1920s saw a renewed interest in the State Cemetery as Texas prepared for the approaching centennial in 1936. Louis Kemp, noted businessman and historian, oversaw a project to reinter prominent Texans at the Cemetery with the involvement of the Texas Legislature, beginning in 1929 with the reinterment of James Pinckney Henderson. The project continued through the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration as many Republic-era men and women were reinterred, ending around 1939 with a total of 76 reinterments. In appreciation of his efforts, the State Highway Department named the main drive through the Cemetery in Louis Kemp’s honor and would eventually become State Highway 165.

James Pinckney Henderson

March 31, 1808 - June 4, 1858

Governor James Pinckney Henderson, first reinterment at the Texas State Cemetery in the Centennial era, 1929 – Courtesy of the State Preservation Board Capitol Historical Artifact Collection.

Shifting Focus

Mid-20th Century

In 1953, the process for obtaining a plot at the State Cemetery was formalized by the Texas Legislature, mostly focusing on state elected officials. However, the shift from soldiers and politicians began midcentury when authors, artists, journalists, scholars and people with more of a cultural focus were allowed burial. In the mid-20th Century, that was either done through an act of the legislature or through a governor’s proclamation. Today, many of the more well-known people buried at the Cemetery are not state officials, rather cultural icons. That began in the middle of the 20th century, but a more formal process was on the way.

J. Frank Dobie, one of the first authors buried at the Texas State Cemetery – Fran Vick Collection, University of North Texas Special Collections

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Renovation and Restoration of the Texas State Cemetery

1994

In 1994, after a period of decline in the care of the Cemetery, Texas Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock organized a full scale renovation with the cooperation of the Legislature and numerous state agencies. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Facilities Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation and private industry worked in concert to renovate the Cemetery and its facilities. The project included the construction of a visitor’s center, a gallery, pond, columbarium wall, and a memorial plaza. The central road in the State Cemetery, State Highway 165, was reconstructed along a new path and beautified. All Confederate headstones and many others were removed for cleaning; those damaged beyond repair were replaced. The final beautification phase of the project featured the planting of trees, shrubbery, flowers, and grass.

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Rededication and Formation of the Texas State Cemetery Committee

1997

In March of 1997, Governor George W. Bush, Lieutenant Governor Bullock, and Speaker of the House Pete Laney hosted the formal rededication of the Texas State Cemetery. That same year, the Legislature created the Texas State Cemetery Committee to provide civilian input on Cemetery operations and formalize the approval of certain burial applications.

The committee, which is still in place today, is comprised of three voting members appointed by the Governor, with nominations from the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House. Advisory members are named by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Historical Commission, and the executive director of the Cemetery’s controlling agency. The committee holds open record meetings regularly, which are posted in the Texas Register.

The first three voting members of the Texas State Cemetery Committee were Chairman Martin L. Allday, George Christian, and Ralph Wayne.

Current Texas State Cemetery Committee Members are Chairman Tom Sellers, Jim Bayless, and Carolyn Hodges.

Governor George W. Bush swears in the inaugural Texas State Cemetery Committee (from left: Committee Members Ralph Wayne and George Christian, Committee Chair Martin L. Allday, Governor Bush) – Texas State Cemetery Photo Archive

Moving Into the Future

Present Day and Beyond

In 2015 the Texas State Preservation Board assumed control of day-to-day operations at the Texas State Cemetery. In addition to caring for the Cemetery, the agency is responsible for the maintenance and operations of the Texas Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum, along with various state office buildings in the Capitol Complex.

In 2018, the State Preservation Board developed a master plan to help steer the Cemetery into the future by identifying potential improvements in all aspects of Cemetery operations. One of the primary initiatives in the master plan is more efficient use of the existing space within Cemetery grounds. By resurveying certain Cemetery sections more gravesites may be added, thus allowing the Cemetery to continue operations well into the 21st Century and beyond.

In 2023, the Texas State Cemetery welcomed more than 43,500 visitors to this unique and historic site. Many of those who visited were schoolchildren who received official tours guided by the State Preservation Board’s Visitors Services division. Today the Cemetery is a place that reflects the past, present and future of Texas.