Harlingen, Cameron County
The Harlingen Cemetery came into legal existence in 1912. In that year, Lon C. Hill (1862-1935), founder of the city of Harlingen and president of the Harlingen land and water company, sold 7.6 acres of land at this site for one dollar to trustees of the Harlingen Cemetery. Burials, however, had taken place here since the death of Robert Keen Weems (1893-1909), a teenager who had come to this area in a freight car from Houston. Although weems was the first to be buried at the graveyard, others who had died earlier, such as George Dorough (1868-1904), were reinterred here. This cemetery originally was divided into sections for babies, blacks, Anglos and Hispanics. These divisions have not been utilized since the cemetery was deeded to the city of Harlingen in 1947, but tombstone designs and grave decorations still reflect diverse cultural influences. Leaders of the community that have been buried here include James Lockhart (d. 1947), the town's first postmaster; Horace Johnson (d. 1928), a Cameron County deputy sheriff; and David L. Hinojosa (d. 1932), a Texas Ranger. The cemetery serves as a reminder of the surrounding community's rich heritage. (1984, 1997)