Laredo, Webb County
Laredo experienced substantial growth in the late 1800s and soon the city needed a new cemetery. The process of creating Laredo’s fourth camposanto, however, was not an easy one. Efforts to build the cemetery date to the 1880s, but political considerations, economic transactions and complaints from residents delayed its use until the turn of the 20th century. Special sections in the cemetery include Babyland (for infants), and plots for burials of priests, Marist brothers and four orders of nuns who served Laredo (Ursulines, Divine Providence, Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of the Sacred Heart). Sections named Resurrection Garden, Pavilion Garden and Waterfall Garden serve as the final resting place for many laity. Soldiers, including Civil War veterans, are also interred here. Santos and Refugio Benavides, brothers who gained fame in the Civil War, and Bishop Pedro (Peter) Verdaguer of the Vicariate of Brownsville, 1896-1909, are among the notable individuals buried in the cemetery. With several additions since the first burial in 1901, including a mausoleum in 1960 and a columbarium in 2004, the cemetery continues to be a reminder of Laredo’s rich heritage. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2005