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Burial place of illustrious pioneers, including 1838-1841 Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798-1859) and one of State's first women settlers, Jane Long (1798-1880), known as "The Mother of Texas." On Labor No. 1 of Mexican land grant to William Morton, 1822 settler in advance party of Austin's "Old 300" colonists; founded 1825 when Morton buried Robert Gelaspie (Gillespie), a brother Mason who had met with foul play. Later he erected a handmade brick tomb, the first known Masonic landmark in Texas. In an 1833 Brazos flood, Morton himself met death and his body was lost. His widow Nancy inherited Labor No. 1 and sold it to Handy & Lusk, promoters of the Richmond townsite. In 1854 the parcel of land encompassing the cemetery was acquired by Michael DeChaumes. In the 1890s Morton Lodge No. 72, A. F. & A. M., gained possession of "DeChaumes Cemetery" and operated it as Richmond Masonic Cemetery until the early 1940s. It was then turned over to the newly-formed Richmond Cemetery Association, which later was retitled Morton Cemetery Association, probably to have its name conform to "Morton Cemetery" -- the name in use ever since the era of Lodge ownership. The cemetery has become a memorial to its founder. |
