Sometimes, walking around inside an old cemetery is exactly what you need.

The Monument Added to Sam Houston's Grave in 1911

(Clicking on an image will open a much larger version of it.)

I woke up this morning and knew that if I didn't get out of the house to do something different the top of my head was going to blow right off. To keep that from happening, I decided to drive 50 miles north to visit the Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville, Texas. Because Oakwood is the cemetery in which Sam Houston is buried, I've been there several times before without seeing anyone else around, so it seemed like the perfect spot to take a break during this endless pandemic. And I did end up having the place pretty much to myself for the entire two hours I wandered around, so it was a very peaceful way to recharge a little.

 

A typical family plot inside the cemetery 

I've mentioned Sam Houston here many times, but so much has changed since the last time I brought up the man's name, I feel that I should say something about him again. Keep in mind that he led the army that gained Texas its independence from Mexico, that he was president of the Republic of Texas, that he was twice a U.S. Senator after the new state joined the Union, and that he is the only American ever to have been governor of two different states (Texas and Tennessee). In the day, he was both an Indian fighter and such an admirer of the Indian culture that one Indian chief adopted him as a son. 

Explanation for high percentage of headstones dated 1867

And yes, he owned a handful of slaves for part of his life. But I refuse to let the "cancel culture" vultures out there convince me to write off the rest of the man's life and accomplishments because he did something that, terrible as it was, was the norm for his time. I am one who continues to believe that context is important when considering different periods of history, and that history should not be so carelessly rewritten by those so ignorant they would destroy statues of Booker T. Washington and prominent abolitionists in their mob-induced frenzy. Well, enough said...probably too much said, actually.

The 1867 epidemic played no favorites. Several clergymen and doctors were also claimed.

I'll let the cemetery speak for itself via a few of the pictures I took there today. Over the past few years, the cemetery does not seem to be getting the upkeep it received in prior years, so parts of it are a little rough. Many of the headstones date from the early 1800s, and in addition to Houston, there are a few other fairly prominent Texans buried in Oakwood. But I have to admit that because the more neglected version of the grounds somehow makes it all seem so much older than it even is, I kind of like it this way. 

There were way too many headstones telling stories similar to this one.

Off by itself, shaded by a nice cluster of trees, is the Powell Sanctuary. The Powells were a prominent Huntsville family who opened this place of meditation inside the cemetery in 1934.

And finally, a few representative headstones:

All in all, this has been a good day, exactly the kind of break from all this COVID-19 talk that I needed. Now it's back to the real world.