The City Cemetery, Galveston

I visited my brother and his family this past weekend. Whenever I visit there, I don't get to explore nearly as much as I want to. The Houston area holds more surprises than you'd think. 

I was there for just a long weekend and most of it was booked with significant family events (my nephew/godson's confirmation and some pre-graduation events for my niece who leaves the nest to head for college soon). 

Our intention was to go to Galveston to tour the Moody Mansion Museum. Unfortunately, there were a few SNAFUS which mean we missed out. But, having beers and sliders at great spot on the Strand was fine by us. We drove around the island a bit, but the highlight was this old graveyard blanketed with these beautiful wildflowers. (The link takes you to Yelp, which seemed to have the most info I could find).

I did a quick Google search and there really isn't much on the Internet about it. It's over 170 years old and a trip through the cemetery is a trip through Texas history. It is reported to be the final resting place for people who were around at the beginning of the Texas Republic, the Alamo, the hurricane in 1900. There are some reports of attempts to preserve it and I do hope the locals make sure this treasure does not disappear. It's one of the most beautiful cemeteries I've ever encountered. 

One part had traditionally kept grounds but most of it looked like the photo above. It was absolutely breathtaking. I wonder if that meant the graves with the cut grass were newer or if the place is in the midst of restoration. 

There were many graves with lambs and we realized we were in a section for babies and children. Very sad. In this spot was the grave of a minister who seemed to be the person to take care of these little children. Not sure if he cared for them when they were alive or if he was simply the one in charge of their burial. Many of these graves had death dates in 1900 so it's not a stretch to assume that these people died during the hurricane. But, some were after and some before so then I wonder if these bodies survived the hurricane/flood or if just the headstones remain.

My brother thought I was a bit morbid when I told him I enjoyed going to old graveyards and also reading obituaries but I told them that I just felt we owed it to the people who died before us.