The Kyle Cemetery, located on Stagecoach Road just outside of Kyle, Texas is thought to be the oldest cemetery serving an entire community still in use in Hays County. The cemetery was recorded as a Texas historical marker in 1992 by the Texas Historical Commission.
The cemetery is located on land which belonged to Col. Claiborne Kyle, who donated the first fifteen acres of a land for a "community burial ground" after two burials had been conducted within the area. One of these two was his "adopted" son, Willie Parks, who died in 1849.
The other burial is that of an unidentified man whom Col. Kyle's ranch hands found hanging from a large oak tree within these same fifteen acres. This was prior to Willie Park's burial. This tree has become famous and is mentioned in several history books written about this area. It is referred to as "The Hanging Tree. "
Check out the Find a Grave here!
For more specific questions or concerns regarding the event at Kyle Cemetery please contact Preservation Texas at ashburn@preservationtexas.org.