{"nrhp_refnum":"06000511","name":"Matagorda Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of TX 60 at Matagorda Cty Rds 259 and 260","address_restricted":false,"city":"Matagorda","county":"Matagorda County","state":"TX","lat":28.70312415500007,"lon":-95.95584227399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Matagorda Cemetery is a 7.29-acre public burial ground on the northeast edge of the town of Matagorda, Matagorda County, Texas, in use since 1830. It is nominated as a district with a site, structures and grave markers.","why_significant":"The cemetery is the only surviving publicly owned historic resource in Matagorda that retains its integrity. Its burials record the town's role as an early point of entry into Texas and as a seat of county government, and include men important in the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas. Its markers also show 19th to mid-20th century commemorative practices and the racial, ethnic and social mix of the community.","narrative":"Matagorda Cemetery occupies 7.29 acres of flat Gulf Coast prairie at the northeast edge of the town of Matagorda, Texas. The first known burials, in 1830, were Esther Randall Wightman and her husband Benjamin, parents of town founder Elias R. Wightman. The town proprietors formally set the ground aside as a public cemetery in 1833. Today it holds more than 1,255 known graves, and an estimated 350 more may be unmarked. Shell-paved drives divide it into sections A through E; section A was reserved for African American and Hispanic residents. Markers include marble tablets, Victorian tabernacle monuments, obelisks, crypts, folk-made pieces and four 1936 Texas Centennial markers. Storms, especially the 1942 hurricane, destroyed much of the town, leaving the cemetery as its best-preserved historic resource. Its graves include veterans of several wars, victims of epidemics, and figures from the Republic of Texas. The period of significance ends in 1955.","period_of_significance":"1830-1955","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a cemetery and described as well maintained and in good condition, with a high degree of integrity. Hurricanes have damaged markers and fencing over time.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.142413-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/9729/40972960/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/06000511.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000511/d9ae2896a9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000511/d9ae2896a9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jagarrison78","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matagorda_Cemetery_in_Matagorda_Texas_01_-_Historical_Marker.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jagarrison78</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matagorda_Cemetery_in_Matagorda_Texas_01_-_Historical_Marker.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972960","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999829"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/matagorda-county/matagorda-cemetery-06000511/"}