Martin Cemetery
5 miles east of Lipan on FM 4 to Diamond A Ranch,
then 2 miles down main ranch road through two gates.
A reminder of pioneer life in Hood County, the Martin Cemetery may
have had its origins as early as 1859 when Nathan Holt was buried on
the property after being killed during an Indian attack. The
graveyard is named for the family of William Harvey Martin, who came
to Texas from Illinois in 1855 and obtained the land on which the
cemetery rests in 1876. The oldest tombstone--dated June 17,
1868--is that of Spencer Marion Self, infant son of David and
Frances Self, while a reproduced stone marks an even earlier burial,
that of Elizabeth Fortner Holt, from about 1860. Grave markers of
granite, concrete and hand-carved stone reflect the lives of those
buried here and stand as testament to the area pioneers.
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