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Beginning in 1839 with the donation of four square blocks of land, the grouping of cemeteries on the central boulevard of Galveston has grown to include seven separate cemeteries within their gates. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it is the resting place of famous and infamous citizens from Galveston's colorful past, including veterans from every war between 1812 and the present, heroes, scoundrels, philanthropists, murderers, pioneers of the Republic of Texas, groundbreaking scientists, and working-class citizens from around the world. Due to several grade raisings, there are up to three layers of burials within the cemetery, with some of the markers being lost forever. The stories of some of the "residents" are gathered here for you to enjoy.

Not long after winning their independence from Mexico in 1836, Texans began clamoring for lighthouses. Hundreds of miles of barrier islands, shifting sandbars, and shallow bays made the Texas coast treacherous at a time when few overland routes provided access to the new republic. Beginning in 1852, twenty-eight lighthouses were built along the Texas coastline, on land and over water. Lighthouse service was often a family affair, with husbands, wives, and children working together as keepers and assistants. For nearly 70 years, construction continued as coastal erosion, hurricanes, and wars regularly damaged or destroyed those lighthouses already built. These "sentinels of the sea" lessened but did not eliminate the chance of shipwreck, so lifesaving stations, manned by able seamen with unsinkable surfboats, were established as well. As Texas's lighthouses were gradually automated throughout the 20th century, many were sold to private owners or abandoned. Today, several have been restored, and two--at Aransas Pass and Port Isabel--still function as aids to navigation.

In his Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters uses a series of poetic monologues to have his characters finally tell their true stories from their graves. The first section lets the reader know that "all, all, are sleeping on the hill." San Antonio has its Powder House Hill about three miles from its central business district. Known as the Eastside Cemetery District, there are 31 cemeteries here, owned by different religious congregations, fraternal organizations, military groups, and the City of San Antonio. Like Masters's Spoon River, within the Eastside Cemetery District reside people of many occupations and nationalities, including soldiers and statesmen, rich and poor, as well as husbands, wives, and children. Through photographs and research, the authors hope to tell some small part of the stories and the history of this unique burial ground.