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This burial ground has served Alice-area residents for more than 100 years, and the story of its genesis and ongoing use involves many individuals in the community’s history. By the late 1880s, Frederic B. Nayer lived in this area, then part of Nueces County. The Collins community had about 2,000 residents by 1891, but the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad Co. built through the area three miles west of the town to intersect the Texas Mexican Railway. Nayer helped sell lots at the rail intersection for the new townsite that would become Alice, and in 1903, he donated the land for the city burial ground, initially called Alice Fraternal Cemetery. In 1925, the Alice Cemetery Association formed and the name of the burial ground changed. Martha Fawcus served as the association’s first president. Under her leadership in 1952, members planted 100 oak trees that more than 50 years later remained a defining feature of the site. Individuals buried at the cemetery include prominent citizens of Alice’s past, military veterans, Texas Rangers and generations of community residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004 |
