Catholic Cemetery

Petrus Marie LaCour's work reached beyond Liberty's burial ground. The Handbook of Texas calls him evidently the first priest resident in the county and says he built a church and convent near the future townsite of Cleveland in 1854. In 1859, according to the county historical commission chair, the bishop directed him to secure property and build a school for the Ursuline sisters, and he bought lumber from Dr. Gillard's mill. Five sisters arrived on February 11, 1859.

What the plaque says

Catholic Cemetery In 1853, twenty-two years after Francisco Madero founded the Villa de la Santissima Trinidad de la Libertad, now the town of Liberty, the Rev. Petrus Marie LaCour came to this area. A native of France, he served as the first pastor of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Acting on behalf of the Galveston Diocese, he purchased this site in 1853 from Pickney L. and Therese A. Palmer as a burial ground for Catholic settlers of the county. A few gravesites were located here when the land was designated a Catholic cemetery. Many of the early graves are those of pioneer French Creole settlers, members of related families that migrated to the region from Louisiana in the mid-nineteenth century. Early residents interred here include LaCours, Gillards, Baillios, DeBlancs, Desrayouxs, Dugats, Fortiers, Benoits, Cannons, Joffrions and Rachals. Their influence as early business, civic and professional leaders had a dramatic impact on Liberty and on the area's social and religious customs. Descendants of the pioneers still serve as active members of the community. The oldest Catholic cemetery in Liberty County, this site now serves as a historic reminder of the region's rich heritage. (1982)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center — 3.8 mi
  A state archives and museum north of Liberty with an exhibit on Southeast Texas history and a campus of historic buildings, including an 1848 house and an 1898 church.
• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site — 27 mi
  The 1,200 acres of coastal prairie and marsh where the Texas Revolution ended in eighteen minutes, and the 567-foot shaft of fossil-studded limestone that has stood over them since 1939.

More markers nearby

• Milton Ashley Hardin — steps away
• Site of Liberty's Ursuline Convent — 0.3 mi
• Plaza Iglesia Parroquial (Parish Church Square) — 0.3 mi
• Seven Pines — 0.3 mi