In this town we have "new and old"
Explain to us why we have two
A third was built in 1865
You could not get out of these alive.
Answer: The Old Montgomery Cemetery & The New Montgomery Cemetery
The Montgomery Methodist church was established by Rev. Isaac Strickland. The church had a yard and it came into use for burials in the 1840s and prior. The cemetery was used until it was full. This cemetery is known as the "Old Montgomery Cemetery". The cemetery, seemingly forgotten in time, contains the graves of soldiers from the War of 1812, the Texas War for Independence, Mexican War and Civil War. Reuben Jonathan Palmer and William S. Taylor are buried in the Old Montgomery Cemetery. Palmer, who died in 1868, moved to Montgomery in 1856 and served as a town lawyer, in the Ninth Texas Legislature and in Secession Convention, 1861. Taylor, who died in 1869, was a San Jacinto veteran.
The New Cemetery was founded in 1868 to relieve the Old Montgomery Cemetery. Shortly after that,
the tale is that four horse thieves came into town and, on adrenaline from their recent steal, and created chaos in town. However, men from where the horses were stolen came into town after the thieves and a gun battle ensued west along College Street. When it was all over, the four outlaws were dead, but were refused burial in the Old Montgomery Cemetery as, although it was public, it was considered a church cemetery. Therefore, the first three burials in the New Cemetery were outlaws. The fourth was buried nearby.
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| The New Montgomery Cemetery |
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| The Old Montgomery Cemetery |
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| Some of the headstones at the Old Montgomery Cemetery |
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| Texas Historical Marker at the Old Methodist Courtyard |
The man who was repainting the sign gave us the clue that led us here. There where old graves and a dead cat I think? The dead cat smelled so gross, I'm pretty sure Gus didn't want to stay here. We didn't find Gus here, but a passer-by who was looking at the graves gave me the next riddle....so let's go!
