Union Cemetery, Old

Historical marker location:

Cooper, Texas

( about 8 mi. southwest of Cooper at FM 1528 and 2068)

Marker installed: 1994

(0.75 mi. S)

This graveyard served the farm and ranch communities of Gough, Yowell, and Antioch. The earliest recorded burial is that of W. H. Henderson in 1859. The cemetery contains more than 90 marked graves mostly arranged in family plots. Buried here are many of the area's earliest settlers and their descendants and at least three veterans of the Civil War: T. J. Hollon, Hiram G. Wynn, and T. J. Craig. The last recorded burial was that of Georgia Missouri Hollon in 1946. A cemetery association was established in 1947 to maintain and improve the grounds.

gravesites

In the late 19th century, Texas became known for its cattle drives, in which cowboys would move herds of cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas and other northern states. The cattle drives were dangerous and difficult work, but they played a key role in the development of the American cattle industry.