Desdemona vicinity, Eastland County
The earliest Anglo settlers in this area were drawn together by the harsh life they found in Texas. William Mansker, who came to Texas with his family in the mid-19th century, set aside a portion of his land for use as a school and community cemetery. The first burial in Alameda Cemetery is the subject of some debate. One legend tells of a baby stolen by a large panther; another pertains to Amanda Elizabeth (Henshaw) Coffer, identified on a plaque in the cemetery as Martha Coffee, said to have been killed by Indians in 1860, at Alameda community's peak. In the late 19th century the Alameda Cemetery Association was formed. A tabernacle and community center was erected inside the cemetery. In 1911, E. L. Reid bought the Mansker land and deeded approximately 5 acres to the Alameda Cemetery Association. Though the community of Alameda had dwindled to only four homes near the cemetery by 1936, the cemetery continued to thrive. A 1996 count revealed 879 graves, several marked only by rocks, in seven acres. Veterans of several American and international wars and conflicts are interred here. Family clusters like that of the Bell children, four of whom died in 1877, testify to the conditions endured by these pioneers. Alameda Cemetery is still in use. (1998)