Historical Marker

Linney Cemetery

Historical marker location:
Dayton, Texas
( corner of E. Linney and N. Colbert)
Marker installed: 1988

Founded in the 1850s, this graveyard was established to serve the citizens of West Liberty (now Dayton). Although there was no early organization of the cemetery, sections of the burial ground were known by the names of families interred there, such as Smith and Alford. A section reserved for blacks in the early years is now known as Acie Cemetery. Several land acquisitions and donations over the years have combined to bring the cemetery's total size to thirteen acres.

There are many unmarked burials in this cemetery. The earliest documented interment is that of Joseph Monroe Linney, who died at the age of six days in 1880. Other early burials include those of Jane Francis Hunt, who died in 1881, and Marie Louise Schneider Gossie, who died in 1885. Those buried in the Linney Cemetery include pioneer settlers, city and county elected officials, community leaders, members of fraternal organizations, and veterans from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

The Linney Cemetery Association, established in 1903, still cares for the historic graveyard. It serves as a reflection of the area's early heritage, and as a reminder of pioneer life in Liberty County.