Palestine in Anderson County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Fort Houston Cemetery
Photographed by QuesterMark
1. Fort Houston Cemetery Marker
In 1835, Joseph Jordan and William S. McDonald donated about 500 acres of land in this area for the town of Houston, later known as Fort Houston. An early map of the townsite shows a section designated as a "public burying ground." The infant child of the Rev. Peter Fullinwider, an early Protestant minister in Anderson County, is said to have been the first to be interred here. The oldest marked grave, that of Dr. James Hunter, is dated 1840.
The Fort Houston Cemetery is the only remaining physical evidence of the early frontier town, which was abandoned after Palestine was made Anderson County seat in 1846. Victims of diseases, Indian massacres, and other hardships that faced early Texas settlers are buried here. A special soldiers' plot, marked with a large boulder, contains the graves of soldiers of the Republic of Texas. Two veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto, John W. Carpenter and James Wilson, are buried in unmarked graves. The burial site of General Nathaniel Smith, a War of 1812 veteran, is also located in the soldiers' plot.
The Fort Houston Cemetery remains in use as a public burial ground and as a reminder of the early history of the area.
Erected 1985 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 8754.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed
this page online
Location. 31° 43.546′ N, 95° 39.091′ W. Marker is in Palestine, Texas, in Anderson County. It is on Harcrow Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Palestine TX 75801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and in the Piney Woods. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Fort Houston (approx. one mile away); a different marker also named Fort Houston (approx. one mile away); Site of Knox Glass Company Plant (approx. 1.1 miles away); Westwood United Methodist Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church (approx. 1.9 miles away); Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church (approx. 1.9 miles away); N. A. Banks Elementary School (approx. 2 miles away); South Union Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 2.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Palestine.
More about this marker. The marker is inside the cemetery fence, facing away from Harcrow Road. It faces the roadway inside the cemetery.
Photographed by QuesterMark, September 6, 2021
2. Fort Houston Cemetery Marker
Photographed by QuesterMark, September 6, 2021
3. Fort Houston Cemetery entrance
The Texas Historical Marker is inside and to the right, facing the cemetery roadway.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 15, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 14, 2021, by QuesterMark of Fort Worth, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,302 times since then and 129 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 14, 2021, by QuesterMark of Fort Worth, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
