ROCKWALL, TX (April 1, 2025) Most residents of Rockwall are not aware that tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood is a cemetery where World War I and World War II African American veterans are buried. Gardenhire Cemetery is at the corner of Spring Creek Drive and Woodpark Drive in the subdivision Ridge Road Village. It is owned and maintained by the City of Rockwall and respectively well kept.
The Rockwall Breakfast Rotary Club became interested in bringing this cemetery to community recognition and have partnered with Rockwall County Historical Commission chaired by Justice of the Peace Mark Russo to pursue the best way to do that. The committee has completed all research and paperwork and the Texas Historical Commission gave approval the week of February 9th to designate this cemetery as an official Texas Historic Cemetery.
Though the sign designates the cemetery as Gardenhire, it remains a mystery as to why. There are no Gardenhire gravesites there and in researching the cemetery’s history, the Rockwall Breakfast Rotary Club found that there are no written records, and that information was passed down orally by members of the New Caldonia Baptist Church and the AME Church. It is called both Memorial Park Cemetery and Gardenhire Cemetery. It was known as The Old Cemetery by those who have distant relatives buried there, such as Martha Maddox Buffington Hood, grandmother of Jean Allen, a current member of New Caldonia Baptist Church.
The Texas Historical Commission has designated the cemetery as Memorial Park Cemetery aka Gardenhire Cemetery. The plaque designation will be Memorial Park Cemetery.
The designation marker has been selected and within a few months there will be an official dedication ceremony to celebrate those buried in Gardenhire. Six of the nine graves that have been identified are military veterans and records have been found detailing both their lives and military service.
Some history of Gardenhires:
The local history behind this cemetery is sketchy mainly because the oldest, and most knowledgeable residents of Rockwall County, TX who were raised there and who would know its history are deceased.
The Gardenhire name dates back to before Rockwall County was established. The family roots go back to 19th Century Tennessee when John Gardenhire (1798-1873) and family moved to Texas. John married Sarah Horn and they had eleven children. They raised their family on the prairies of what would become Rockwall, farming the land, raising cattle and capturing wild horses to tame and sell.
John’s son George Gardenhire (1830-1902) served in the Confederate Army – Company F of the 16th Texas Cavalry. George was killed in a freak buggy accident in Ft Worth in 1902.
John’s son, Aaron Brown Gardenhire (known as Brown – 1845-1933) was the Rockwall Postmaster for 40 years. He died December 11, 1933 and is buried in the Rockwall Memorial Cemetery.
The Rockwall community will be notified regarding when the dedication ceremony is to be held for Memorial Park Cemetery aka Gardenhire Cemetery.
Submitted by John Adams, Rockwall Breakfast Rotary, for publication in Blue Ribbon News.
Hidden Heroes: Rockwall cemetery honoring African American veterans gains historic recognition added by Editor on
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