To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer — please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Thank you for visiting the Texas Gravestone Photo Project. On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Texas, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 5/4/14 • Approved: 5/14/15 • Last Updated: 3/24/18 • R5779-G0-S3
Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
Texas Historical Markers
1301 Texas Blvd, Texarkana, TX, USA
Latitude & Longitude: 33° 25' 50.3976", -94° 3' 6.8976"
Texas State Historical Marker
The Texas and Pacific Railroad founded Texarkana on December 8, 1873. Anthony Ghio and Col. R.W. Rodgers purchased town lots on the first day of sale. They and several other residents formed Sacred Heart Catholic Church under the leadership of Father Theodore Buffard, a priest from Galveston who served much of the region's Catholic population. The next year, the congregation celebrated Christmas Eve mass in their first sanctuary. Two years later, Col. Rodgers donated land for this church cemetery; his young daughter, Agnes Bernard Rodgers, had been buried here the previous year. Over the years, the congregation grew and also sponsored a sister church in the city. Sacred Heart Catholic Church established a school, and later developed a second burial ground and new church facilities. Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery features ironwork by the local LeGrand family, as well as sculpture by Raffl Studios of Paris, France. Immigrants from sixteen countries are buried here; inscriptions on the monuments, which vary greatly in style, indicate the diverse history of the congregation. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004
Photo Courtesy of James Petersen
c3h8pete@gmail.com
Contributed on 5/4/14 by MryAl8
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 5779