Waverly Cemetery

The cemetery is what remains of Old Waverly. About 300 people from Alabama, including enslaved people, settled the area in autumn 1852, the Handbook of Texas says, and the town had a post office from 1855 to 1872 and a school, Waverly Institute, from 1856. In 1870 its leaders refused the Houston and Great Northern Railroad a right-of-way, fearing it would bring tramps and ignorance, and New Waverly was established ten miles west that year. By 1986 only the cemetery, a nearby Presbyterian church and a rural subdivision of about 50 people were left.

What the plaque says

Waverly Cemetery This cemetery is situated on the land originally purchased in 1853 by Mary M. Lewis, James E. Scott, Laura A. Scott, and Milly D. Scott. The first recorded burial was that of John Andrew Jackson (1822-1855), a pioneer settler of Waverly. Three gravestones dated 1852 indicate reinterments rather than earlier burials. Hamlin F. Lewis, John Elliot Scott, and Robert Lindsey Scott left Alabama for Texas but fell victim to cholera in 1852 and were buried along the way. Relatives of the men had their remains placed in this site in 1859. In 1857 Waverly Institute purchased 200 acres of land which included the burial ground. Through the efforts of Henry M. Elmore (1816-1879), president of Waverly Institute board of trustees, twelve acres were officially set aside for cemetery use in 1873. The town of Waverly was a cultural, educational, and religious center before the Civil War. When New Waverly was founded on the railroad in the 1880s, Waverly declined, but its cemetery remains in use. The burial ground has always been associated with the pioneer settlers of Waverly. In 1965 descendants of the settlers formed a cemetery association to maintain the site. (1978)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Old Waverly — 0.7 mi
• Cunningham, Minnie Fisher — 7.5 mi
• Site of Former Town of Danville — 9.6 mi
• Site of Willis Cigar Factory — 10 mi