Del Rio Cemeteries Historic District

Four adjoining cemeteries on the west side of Del Rio, Texas, make up this district of roughly 36 acres: Masonic, Westlawn, Sacred Heart Catholic and St. Joseph's. Three side-by-side gates at the end of the old Cemetery Road, now West Second Street, lead into them. Rows of Italian and Arizona cypress, neither native to the region, are the most distinctive feature. Most markers are simple granite, marble or limestone, though the grounds also hold a limestone crypt, a black-and-white granite crypt resembling a small house, Woodmen of the World markers and ceramic-tile gravestones, many showing the Virgin of Guadalupe. The cemeteries record the town's history. Westlawn grew from land John Perry deeded in 1889 and 1899 and includes older burials moved from downtown sites, as well as areas once segregated by race. Sacred Heart reflects the Catholic, Italian and Mexican communities. The district is listed for the way it shows Del Rio's social development, and all four cemeteries remain in use today.