Fairmount Cemetery

One grave here belongs to a pair of brothers. Jack Mathis, born in San Angelo in 1921 and raised in Sterling City, trained as a bombardier at Goodfellow Field with his brother Mark. On March 18, 1943, leading his squadron's bomb run over Vegesack, Germany, antiaircraft fire shattered his arm and tore his side. He dragged himself back to the bombsight, dropped the bombs and died at his post. Mark asked to replace him in the crew and was killed over the North Sea that May. San Angelo's airport was named for both brothers in 1988.

What the plaque says

Fairmount Cemetery San Angelo established the "New City Cemetery" here in 1893 on 22.5 acres. The first recorded burial was that of city alderman George Bond's wife, Elise, in 1893. A cemetery association, formed in 1897, organized a volunteer women's auxiliary to manage the graveyard. The auxiliary was headed by Mrs. C. A. Broome for 38 years. Early auxiliary member Leila Hill is credited with naming the cemetery "Fairmount". Although the association deeded the cemetery to the city in 1927, a perpetual care fund was created and the women's auxiliary continued to oversee operations. Fairmount Cemetery's 52 acres contain more than 33,000 burials, some of which were transferred from other area graveyards. Interred here are former slaves; African American Buffalo Soldiers; pioneer ranchers and oilmen; civic leaders; and veterans of wars ranging from the Texas Revolution to the Vietnam conflict including Lt. Jack Mathis, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for service in the European Theater in World War II. Members of a local Greek Orthodox Church are buried in a separate section. Among the cemetery's outstanding statuary is the statue of Tom McCloskey by noted sculptor Frank Teich and one of St. Francis shaped by Italian artisans. (1994)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Concho River Walk — 1.0 mi
  Four miles of lit trails along the North Concho through downtown San Angelo, rebuilt after voters taxed themselves in 2004, with gardens, sculpture, a river stage and stocked trout.
• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark — 1.4 mi
  The stone post at the forks of the Concho, headquarters of the Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882, saved by a woman with a museum and now a city-run landmark of 23 original buildings.
• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts — 1.4 mi
  A free art museum on the Concho beside Fort Concho, founded in the fort's 1868 quartermaster building and known nationally for its biennial ceramics competition.
• Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum — 1.5 mi
  The upstairs rooms on Concho Avenue where a brothel ran from 1902 until the Texas Rangers closed it in 1952, shown on short guided tours with most of the furnishings original.

More markers nearby

• Daniel Millar — steps away
• John Ingram — steps away
• Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church — 0.6 mi
• Johnson Street Church of Christ — 0.8 mi