Liberty Hill in Williamson County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Hopewell Cemetery

Photographed by Keith Peterson

1. Hopewell Cemetery Marker

Inscription.

Pioneers who settled here in the 1840s and established the town of Hopewell faced many hardships, including Indian raids. Wofford and Mary Johnson and their daughter were killed by Comanches nearby in 1863. They were buried at this site near the grave of Cornelia Johnson, whose burial is the first recorded here. The graveyard was deeded to a local congregation in 1877 and in 1966 a cemetery association was formed. Buried here are area pioneers and their descendants, and veterans of the Civil War. This cemetery is all that remains of the Hopewell community.

Erected 1994 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 9105.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. A significant historical year for this entry is 1863.

Location. 30° 38.773′ N, 98° 0.788′ W. Marker is in Liberty Hill, Texas, in Williamson County. It is on CR-285. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Liberty Hill TX 78642, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Texas

and in the Austin Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South.

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 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Stringtown Cemetery (approx. 4.1 miles away); John G. Matthews (approx. 4.4 miles away); William O. Spencer (approx. 4.4 miles away); Liberty Hill Cemetery (approx. 4½ miles away); Bryson Stagecoach Stop (approx. 4.7 miles away); First Baptist Church of Liberty Hill (approx. 4.8 miles away); The Bryson Place (approx.

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5.1 miles away); The Village of South Gabriel (approx. 5.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Liberty Hill.

Also see . . . Hopewell, TX. Texas State Historical Association (Submitted on March 12, 2018, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas.)

Additional commentary.
1. Mary Johnson
This historical marker records Wofford Johnson’s wife was Mary. I would like everyone to know that Wofford Johnson’s wife was Nancy Catherine Moore, not Mary. Nancy was the daughter of Jesse W. Moore and Dezina Fitzgerald from Bell County, Texas.

The Moores came to Bastrop County, Texas about 1851 from Marion County, Alabama. Nancy was about 17 years of age. She married Wofford Johnson December 31, 1855 in Bastrop County. Wofford and Nancy Catherine are found on the 1860 census in Bastrop County with two children, Mary Jane and Elvira.

Wofford, Nancy Catherine and Mary Jane were killed in the raid. By then they had another daughter, named GeorgeAnna. Elvira and GeorgeAnna were the survivors of the raid along with a Mrs. Proctor, niece of Wofford Johnson.

After the Indian raid, Nancy’s father, Jesse Moore,

Hopewell Cemetery and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith Peterson

2. Hopewell Cemetery and Marker

(my great great great grandfather) came to Williamson county and picked up the two remaining grandchildren, Elvira and GeorgeAnna. He provided for them in his Last Will and Testament recorded in Bell County, Texas. He died just 6 months later in February of 1864. They are both living with Jesse’s younger daughter, Lydia Ann Vanderveer in 1870.

— Submitted January 10, 2008, by Janet Gardner of Huntsville, Texas.

Cornelia Johnson Grave Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith Peterson

3. Cornelia Johnson Grave Marker

Earliest dated burial in the cemetery.

Wofford Johnson, Wife, and little daughter Grave Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith Peterson

4. Wofford Johnson, Wife, and little daughter Grave Marker

Killed by Comanches in 1863.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on December 16, 2007, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. This page has been viewed 3,877 times since then and 93 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 16, 2007, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.