Hillside Cemetery
Established in 1700
Hillside Cemetery
is located within the city limits of Cuero, Texas bordered by Valley
and Sarah Streets. The main entrance to Hillside Cemetery is located
at the intersection of Reuss Boulevard and Valley Street.
Evergreen Cemetery is located within the boundaries of Hillside
Cemetery. Evergreen is that area bordered by a chainlink fence to the
north, east and south, and on the west by the Sarah Street entrance
road.
The Grounds Maintenance Department,
City of Cuero, maintains both
Hillside Cemetery and Evergreen Cemetery.
Hillside has an annual Decoration Day, which takes place on the 3rd
Sunday in April.
Cemetery information on the purchase of plots and guidelines for
monuments can be obtained by contacting the City of Cuero at
(361) 275-6114, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Hillside Cemetery Designated a Historic Texas Cemetery
On Sunday, February 26, 2006, Hillside Cemetery was officially designated
a Historic Texas Cemetery by the
Texas Historical Commission.
A historical
marker from the THC now stands near the flagpole at the front of the cemetery,
which reads as follows:
HILLSIDE CEMETERY
The new community of Cuero was surveyed for the Cuero Land and Immigration
Co. in 1873. That same year, the City incorporated, and the GWT&P Railroad
extended its track to it from Indianola. The land company conveyed 12 acres
at this site for use as a municipal burial ground in 1875. By 1880, local
women formed a cemetery association to maintain burial plots. They raised
funds and collected dues to employ a groundskeeper to make cemetery
improvements. The site grew to include additional acreage and the
once segregated African-American cemetery, Evergreen. The Ladies'
Cemetery Association turned over its duties to the City in 1972,
but an endowment established in 1919 continues to generate funds
for cemetery projects.
Today, Hillside Cemetery is the final resting place for generations of
area residents. In addition to pioneer settlers, artists, writers,
educators and civic leaders, those buried here include elected
officials and military veterans of conflicts dating to the Mexican
War. Large monuments are reminders of the victims and survivors of
the Indianola storms of 1875 and 1886.
HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2004
The Texas Historical Commission's Historic Cemetery Program serves to
"address the problem of cemetery destruction and to record as many cemeteries
as possible...." More information about this program can be found by visiting the
Texas Historical Commission's Historic Texas Cemetery Program page.
|
