Der Stadt Friedhof | |
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Details | |
Established | 1846 |
Location | on Barons Creek, corner of E. Schubert and Lee Streets Fredericksburg, Texas |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 30°16′16″N98°51′42″W / 30.27111°N 98.86167°W |
No. of graves | 5000+plus |
Find a Grave | Der Stadt Friedhof |
Der Stadt Friedhof (the town cemetery) is a pioneer cemetery established in 1846 along Barons Creek on the corner of East Schubert Street and Lee Street, in Fredericksburg, Texas. It is the oldest known cemetery within Fredericksburg and is the final resting place for many of the original German colonists who arrived when John O. Meusebach opened up the area to settlement.
When Herman Wilke laid out the town, a plot of land was set aside for the cemetery. [1] The various denominations who worshiped in the Vereins Kirche were responsible for cemetery maintenance. In 1850, the Catholics broke away and started their own church, establishing their own cemetery, now known as the Old Pioneer Cemetery. [2] In 1991 the three churches overseeing cemetery maintenance, plot sales and burials formed a 501c13 Cemetery Nonprofit Corporation called, Der Stadtische Friedhof Fredericksburg Inc. (IRS EIN 74-2610012). The churches were Bethany Lutheran, Holy Ghost Lutheran, and Zion Lutheran. [3] There are upwards of 5,000 graves in Der Stadt Friedhof, not all of them currently marked, many unidentifiable due to the passage of time. Some of the graves had only wooden markers which rotted in time, and some graves were obliterated whenever Barons Creek overflowed its banks. During cholera epidemics many people were buried in mass graves. The oldest readable grave marker is dated 1849. Many of the tombstones are written in German. [4] Rather than being grouped in family plots, the deceased have been buried in chronological order according to when they died. Section C is an exception where African America families were buried in family plots. Several of these African Americans were once slaves [5] in Gillespie County.
The graves in Der Stadt Friedhof are noted for their artistic carvings and sculptures. What is possibly the last known work of sculptor Elisabet Ney, that of a tousled haired cherub resting over a grave and known as the 1906 Schnerr Memorial, can be found at Der Stadt Friedhof. [6] [7]
On May 5, 2000, the State of Texas recognized Der Stadt Friedhof as a State Historical Cemetery. [8]
Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,725. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the rural Texas Hill Country in Central Texas. Gillespie is named for Robert Addison Gillespie, a soldier in the Mexican–American War. It is known as the birthplace of 36th president of the United States of America Lyndon B. Johnson.
Fredericksburg is a city in and the seat of Gillespie County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 Census, this city had a population of 10,875.
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the U.S. state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas.
The Texas Folklore Society is a non-profit organization formed on December 29, 1909, in Dallas, Texas. According to John Avery Lomax, the first print collection included "public songs and ballads; superstitions, signs and omens, cures and peculiar customs; legends; dialects; games, plays and dances; fiddles and proverbs." Their mission statement is "The Texas Folklore Society collects, preserves, and shares the practices and customs of the people of Texas and the Southwest."
Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr. was an American politician, businessman, farmer, and rancher. He was the grandfather of U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson.
Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church located at 2013 Broadway in Galveston, Texas. The church's congregation was founded in 1848 by enslaved African Americans and, following emancipation in 1865, the church was organized as Texas's first A.M.E. congregation in 1866. Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church was one of locations of the public reading of General Order No. 3 by Union general Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865 which officially declared emancipation in Texas. The annual celebration of this declaration among African Americans continues today as the Juneteenth holiday.
Alfred P. C. Petsch (1887–1981) was a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for the 85th District of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County. He was a retired lieutenant colonel who saw service in both World War I and World War II. Petsch was also an educator, a lawyer, a civic leader and a philanthropist.
The architectural structures of Fredericksburg, Texas, are often unique to the Texas Hill Country, and are historical edifices of the German immigrants who settled the area in the 19th century. Many of the structures have historic designations on a state or national level. The Gillespie County Historical Society is actively involved in assisting with preservation.
Grapetown is an unincorporated farming and ranching community 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Fredericksburg, situated on South Grape Creek in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located on the old Pinta Trail. Grapetown is noted for being the site of the first annual Gillespie County Bundes Schützenfest. The school was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1984, Marker number 10048.
Ludwig "Louis" Martin was with the first settlers to Fredericksburg, Texas. He was the first sheriff of Gillespie County, and also served as District Clerk of the county. Martin was a co-founder of the Mason County community of Hedwigs Hill.
Charles Henry Nimitz (born Karl Heinrich Nimitz; was born in Bremen, Germany, the son of a merchant seaman. Like his father before him, he was already a veteran seaman before the Nimitz family immigrated to South Carolina in the early 1840s, and later became part of the Adelsverein colonization experiment in the newly annexed state of Texas. He was the grandfather of, and role model for, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. In 1852, he built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, Texas, in the United States. The hotel he built now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War. The Nimitz Hotel was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989, Marker number 10089. Nimitz was elected to the Twenty-second Texas Legislature in 1890, representing Gillespie, Comal and Blanco counties, which constituted District 89.
The History of Fredericksburg, Texas dates back to its founding in 1846. It was named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Fredericksburg is also notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English. Fredericksburg shares many cultural characteristics with New Braunfels, which had been established by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels the previous year.
Joseph Wilson Baines was an American journalist and politician. He was a Secretary of State of Texas and a member of the Texas House of Representatives. He was the maternal grandfather of U.S. president Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Amanda Julia Estill, also known simply as Julia Estill, was an American educator, writer, and folklorist.