Urban Cemetery

Julius Paul Urban is called a Wendish immigrant, which places his family among the Sorbs, a Slavic people of Lusatia in eastern Germany who speak Sorbian. The largest Texas group, nearly 600 strong, sailed on the Ben Nevis in 1854, and seventy-three died of cholera on the way. Most settled in Lee County, though the Handbook of Texas lists Thorndale among later Wendish centers. Wends were known for wearing black wedding dresses, a custom that faded by the 1890s, and for paying for the schooling of promising young men.

What the plaque says

Urban Cemetery This burial ground is named for Julius Paul Urban (1848-1923), a Wendish immigrant who deeded 1.05 acres of land for use as a cemetery in the late 1890s. The oldest known grave is that of Madalena Denker, who died in 1903. The cemetery also contains numerous graves of infants and children dating from the early years of the 20th century. Many tombstones bear German-language inscriptions, reflecting the area's strong German heritage. Although the Lutheran church and school that once served the Felton, Duncan and Sharp communities no longer exist, the Urban cemetery remains in use for this rural part of Milam County. (2001)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 14 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.
• Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum — 27 mi
  The Santa Fe depot of 1911 in a railroad town that began in 1880 as a construction camp, now a museum with locomotives and cars parked beside the active rail yard.

More markers nearby

• Sharp — 1.1 mi
• William Persky — 2.0 mi
• Lilac — 2.2 mi
• Apache Pass River Crossing — 3.9 mi