Cemeteries of Hood County

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Granbury Cemetery

Oddities Unearthed

Sometimes cemeteries hold surprises.  In doing research on the Granbury Cemetery the Heritage Camp students found several intriguing anecdotes.  Local historian Mary Kate Durham told the students about several cemetery oddities.

One concerned the only known animal buried in any Hood County cemetery with a headstone: Rex the dog.  Further research uncovered the fact that Rex not only had been buried in Granbury Cemetery but had actually been re-interred here when his owners had bought their own plot.  This couple did not have children and Rex was considered part of the family.  His small square headstone reads simply “Rex”.

The second unusual circumstance regards an unfortunate childhood accident involving a Mr. W. H.  Holland.  Holland lost an arm as a child and it was buried in the family plot.  The headstone reads: “Holland, Arm of W. H. amputated Nov. 16 1895”.  Mr. Holland himself was buried next to Jesse James in the Sam Rash plot in another part of the cemetery.

Today visitors to the Historic District in Granbury can still see buildings and homes of Hood County’s earliest pioneers.  Many of these early residents are buried in the Granbury Cemetery.

The Lamberts, Bonds, and Gaffords crossed to the west side of the Brazos in 1854, settling in what was called Stockton Bend.  Coming from Missouri, the Nutts and Landers arrived in 1854.[1]  The Nutts opened their first general mercantile business at Stockton Bend, slightly north of the current site of Granbury.   Abe Landers was the first county judge and primarily responsible for the current location of Granbury as the county seat.  The Nutt, Lambert, and Landers families intermarried and shared other common interests.  All prospered in the early years of Hood County history.

In 1867, at age 10, W. B. Daniel came by covered wagon to Granbury with his family.  He later owned a grocery store on the west side of the Square.  His Victorian home on Bluff Street, built prior to 1893,[2] is currently occupied by his granddaughter and her husband, and has been featured on the Christmas Candlelight Tour, an annual holiday celebration.

E.A. Hannaford, born in England, originally settled in Ohio, fought in the Civil War for the Union, migrated to Granbury in 1871.  He established the first drugstore in Granbury in a tent, subsequently building a permanent store on the Square.  He was in business for 42 years on the Square.  He was instrumental in building 29 of the 30 schools in Hood County.   At the time of his death in 1915 he was so well loved that  even the Confederate veterans served as pall bearers at his funeral.[3]  His Greek Revival home has been restored and has also been on the Tour of Homes.

Prior to coming to Granbury, P.H. Thrash served as a Captain in the Confederate Army.  He came to Granbury around 1872.  He was one of the leading merchants in town and also owned a considerable amount of land.  He was the first Mayor of Granbury, as well as later becoming County Treasurer.[4]

In 1872, at the age of 16, Jess Baker opened his first business as a tinner.  He eventually built his own hardware store on the square, served as Vice-President of the First National Bank and was one of the Bank’s first Board of Directors.   In 1906 he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served several terms.

D.O.Baker was a hardware merchant in Granbury with his older brother, Jess. 

D.O. stocked dynamite for the farmers to use in clearing their fields and the stone masons to quarry the limestone blocks used for many of the buildings still standing today.  Due to the danger of storing this in the hardware store, he built a brick and cement structure, reinforced with steel.  This underground structure was behind his house on the bluff overlooking the river.  It became known as the “Dynamite House”.  D.O.  was president of the Hood County Lumber Company.    He and Jeff Rylee built the limestone building on the southeast corner of the Square that currently houses the Convention and Visitors Bureau. [5]

J.D. Brown was one of Granbury’s early leading merchants.  After clerking in his uncle’s store in Acton, he moved to Granbury and operated a dry goods store on the square.[6]  He served as both President and Director of the Granbury State Bank.  After his death, his family tried to continue the business, but did not have the business ability of J.D. 

John Bennet Dickson was a veteran of the War of 1812.  His three sons predeceased him and he spent the last years of his life in Granbury.  His is the only marker of an identified War of 1812 veteran in Hood County.[7]

General Hiram Bronson Granbury died during the Battle of Franklin, TN in 1864 and was buried there, however later, the confederate soldiers petitioned to have his body exhumed and reburied in the Granbury Cemetery in 1893. 

A folk hero or outlaw named Jesse James is said to have escaped his death in Missouri and come to Granbury to work on the railroad.  After his retirement from the railroad, this gentleman shared with many residents who he really was and when he died at the age of 105, he was given space in the Granbury Cemetery by a man with space in his plot.  The markers that were placed at this grave site were stolen each time they were placed there until after a number of years with no marker, relatives decided to place a large granite marker that could not be removed.  Currently a group of interested individuals began work to exhume the body and do DNA testing to compare to some male relatives of the real Jesse James.  When this is complete, citizens of Hood County will know if they have Jesse James buried in their city cemetery or just a man with a great imagination.

In 1873, Granbury residents proposed to the Methodist District Conference that a college be built in Granbury.  After the approval, a building was built on a hill north of town, overlooking the town.[8]  When the college closed and the buildings were moved or torn down, the land was deeded to the City of Granbury for a cemetery.  It is possible that some burials had taken place prior to the college closing, but many were moved to this cemetery when the local Methodist Church needed room to expand.

Granbury Cemetery is representative of the original town families as well as many more who have moved here over the years.  It is reminiscent of the town with its street names and curbing and fencing around many of the sites, much like the community it sprang from.