Western Heights Cemetery

Western Heights Cemetery
Interactive map of Western Heights Cemetery
Details
Established1848 [1]
Location
1617 Fort Worth Avenue, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates32°45′56″N 96°50′46″W / 32.76554°N 96.84614°W / 32.76554; -96.84614
TypePublic
Websitehttps://westernheightscemetery.org
Find a GraveWestern Heights Cemetery

Western Heights Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in Dallas, Texas. Established in the 19th century, it is among the city’s early burial grounds and reflects Dallas’s development during its formative growth.

The cemetery contains graves of early settlers, immigrants, and individuals connected to local and regional historical events. Its burials provide insight into the social and cultural history of Dallas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Western Heights Cemetery remains a historical site and continues to be the focus of preservation and documentation efforts aimed at protecting its remaining grave markers and records.

Geography

Western Heights Cemetery is located in the Western Heights area of the neighborhood of West Dallas.

Unlike most of West Dallas, which lies in the Trinity River floodplain, the cemetery is elevated by the Austin Chalk limestone formation overlooking the Trinity River and downtown Dallas.[2][3] The cemetery lies within the Texas Blackland Prairies ecoregion.[4]

History

Western Heights Cemetery was established in the 19th century in Dallas, Texas, and served as a burial ground for residents of the surrounding area.[5] The cemetery reflects burial practices and neighborhood development patterns common in Dallas during the city’s late 19th-century and early 20th-century growth.[6]

1848: The first burial, Augustine Byram, was done on June 27th 1848, on the land which would later become Western Heights Cemetery.[7][8]

1881: The land for the cemetery was purchased for $15. The deed designated the land as a "graveyard forever" by early settlers Z. E. Coombes and W. R. Fisher.[9][10]

1908: During the Trinity River flood, the surrounding area was affected by widespread flooding in Dallas.[11]

1922: Anna Struck buys 1/6 acres in the southeast corner of Western Heights Cemetery along Neal Street for a family plot, although the adjoining Struck Cemetery is legally separate from Western Heights Cemetery.[12][13]

1954: West Dallas and the cemetery are annexed by Dallas.[14]

1988: The Texas State Historical Marker is installed, located at the left center entrance to the cemetery.[15][16]

1992: The Dallas Genealogical Society surveys and transcribes headstones within the cemetery.[17][18]

2006: The Trinity Oaks Church of Christ becomes defunct. The custody of the cemetery is transferred to Rolling Heights Church of Christ in DeSoto. Frances James, Dallas's "cemetery lady" maintains the cemetery along with the Dallas County Pioneer Association.[19][20]

2008: Fort Worth Avenue Development Group assumes maintenance of the cemetery with some gaps due to the COVID pandemic and other periods of organizational inactivity.[21][22]

2023: Selected as pilot cemetery for Constellation of Living Memorials habitat program.[23][24]

2024: A $15,000 grant from the Summerlee Foundation is administered by the Constellation of Living Memorials, provided for cleaning of stone markers throughout the cemetery. Several stone markers were repaired, missing markers rediscovered, and a memorial plaza was dedicated.[25][26]

2026: The newly formed Western Heights Cemetery Association assumes maintenance of the cemetery.[27][28]

The cemetery has been recognized by the Texas Historical Commission and documented in the Texas Historic Sites Atlas as a historic burial ground in Dallas.[29]

Preservation efforts

All headstones at Western Heights Cemetery have been photographed, mapped, GPS located, and transcribed into a comprehensive database.[30]

Extensive genealogical work has established how many of the represented families are related to each other, and online resources have been created to help descendants and other researchers.[31]

Preservation-focused programming has included the cemetery in educational and heritage events such as the annual Preservation Dallas cemetery tour.[32]

Veterans are honored three times a year in grave flag placement ceremonies while historic storytellers recount the veterans’ biographies.[33]

Notable interments

  • Capt. Zachariah Ellis Coombes (1833–1895), lawyer, Confederate Army officer, county judge of Dallas County, alderman, and member of the Texas House of Representatives.[34]
  • Ida Mae Murphy (September 1, 1858 – February 25, 1940), with her husband James Andrew (JA) Murphy (December 8, 1858 – January 7, 1912). She is noted in cemetery records for sheltering more than 30 people during the Great Trinity River Flood of 1908.[35]
  • John Loupot (1836–1904) and his wife Rosina Loupot (1850–1919), settlers of the La Réunion colony near Dallas.[36]
  • Marvin Buck Barrow (1905–1933), member of the Barrow Gang and older brother of Clyde Barrow.[38]

The cemetery contains the documented graves of 30 military veterans, including 18 individuals who served in the American Civil War.[39]

References

  1. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery Timeline". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  2. ↑ "The great Trinity River flood of 1908". Oak Cliff Advocate. May 15, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Grounds – Western Heights Cemetery". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  4. ↑ "The Grounds – Western Heights Cemetery". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  5. ↑ McDonald, Archie P. (1978). Dallas Rediscovered. Dallas Historical Society. p. 112.
  6. ↑ Kleiner, Diana J. (2001). Dallas County: A History. Texas A&M University Press. p. 214.
  7. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery – Revised 2025". Dallas County Pioneer Association. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Details - Western Heights - Atlas Number 7113010103". Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission). Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery - Atlas Number 5113006913". Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission). Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  10. ↑ "History". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ "The great Trinity River flood of 1908". Oak Cliff Advocate. May 15, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ "History". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Details - Western Heights - Atlas Number 7113010103". Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission). Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  14. ↑ "The Story Of West Dallas From Bonnie And Clyde To Margaret Hunt Hill". KERA. April 23, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery - Atlas Number 5113006913". Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission). Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Meet the volunteer finding a home for forgotten graves". Oak Cliff Advocate. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  18. ↑ "History". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  19. ↑ "History". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Frances James Cemetery Files Collection, 1900-2018". Dallas Municipal Archives (City of Dallas). Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  21. ↑ "History". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Getting Started at Western Heights Cemetery". Constellation of Living Memorials. January 14, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  23. ↑ "WHC Progress". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Constellation of Living Memorials". Constellation of Living Memorials. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  25. ↑ "WHC Progress". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery caregivers form new nonprofit". Oak Cliff Advocate. October 24, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery caregivers form new nonprofit". Oak Cliff Advocate. October 24, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery – Revised 2025". Dallas County Pioneer Association. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Details – Western Heights (Atlas Number 7113010103)". Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission). Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Nonprofit plotting ways to expand green cemetery pilot program". Green Source Texas. August 21, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  31. ↑ Geist, Shelby (May 25, 2025). "Gone but not Forgotten: Descendants Day at Western Heights Cemetery". The DFW Community (Substack). Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Preservation Dallas Cemetery Tour". DallasNews.com. October 19, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Volunteers honor veterans at abandoned Dallas cemetery (video)". YouTube. NBC DFW. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Coombes, Zachariah Ellis". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Notable Residents". Western Heights Cemetery Association. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery – Atlas Number 5113006913". Texas Historic Sites Atlas. Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Barrow, Clyde Chesnut". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Barrow, Marvin Ivan "Buck"". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Western Heights Cemetery timeline". Western Heights Cemetery. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
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