Cemetery Near Schulenburg is the Final Resting Place for Many Veterans

Cemeteries are serene, beautiful, and usually very quiet. Considered to be the first public parks in the United States, almost every city, town, and hamlet has or had one. Often a story or two can be weaved from the headstones. Perhaps now is the perfect time to visit some historical gravesites in Texas, as easy social distancing there is practically guaranteed. One suggestion is the Navidad Corinthian Baptist Cemetery, also known as the Corinth Baptist Church or Brown’s Chapel Cemetery. A distinguishing element about this graveyard is its high number of veteran occupants.

Photo: @scrilly via Twenty20

Located on Vacek Loop or County Road 401, off HWY 77 near Schulenburg, find the little white-sided church. Beside it are a smattering of tombstones; 159 marked graves and 55 unmarked graves of African Americans. The earliest marked grave is from April 10, 1893 and is the final resting place of Lucinda Rogers. Nine of the burial sites here entomb people who had been slaves; their dates of birth predate the Emancipation Proclamation.

There are seven World War I veterans, and nine veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Family Adams had four family members participate in WWII. Of the Green Family, father, Nathan, served in WWI and his son, Arthur, served in WWII. Willie Garrison served in WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Millige Adams served in both WWII and the Korean War.

Photo: @el_savva via Twenty20

African Americans have participated in every war fought by or within the United States. This list includes the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the War of 1812 (1812-1815), the Mexican–American War (1846-1848), the Civil War (1861-1865), the Spanish–American War (1898), World War I (1914-1918), World War II (1939-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953), the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the Gulf War (1990-1991), and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (2001-present) as well as other smaller-scale conflicts. An official Historic Texas Cemetery, the Navidad Corinthian Baptist Cemetery is well maintained but at capacity and new burials are not able to be accepted. Typically, church services are held every second Sunday.