Morton Cemetery

Burial place of illustrious pioneers, including 1838-1841 Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798-1859) and one of State's first women settlers, Jane Long (1798-1880), known as "The Mother of Texas." On Labor No. 1 of Mexican land grant to William Morton, 1822 settler in advance party of Austin's "Old 300" colonists; founded 1825 when Morton buried Robert Gelaspie (Gillespie), a brother Mason who had met with foul play. Later he erected a handmade brick tomb, the first known Masonic landmark in Texas. In an 1833 Brazos flood, Morton himself met death and his body was lost. His widow Nancy inherited Labor No. 1 and sold it to Handy & Lusk, promoters of the Richmond townsite. In 1854 the parcel of land encompassing the cemetery was acquired by Michael DeChaumes. In the 1890s Morton Lodge No. 72, A. F. & A. M., gained possession of "DeChaumes Cemetery" and operated it as Richmond Masonic Cemetery until the early 1940s. It was then turned over to the newly-formed Richmond Cemetery Association, which later was retitled Morton Cemetery Association, probably to have its name conform to "Morton Cemetery" -- the name in use ever since the era of Lodge ownership. The cemetery has become a memorial to its founder.

Morton Cemetery is a historical marker in Richmond, Fort Bend County, dedicated in 1972. It is one of 90 historical markers documented in Fort Bend County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 237 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.5863, -95.7617 near Richmond. The nearest cataloged historic site is Morton-McCloy House (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Morton, McNabb, John, and Smith, Thomas Jefferson.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5157009012. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.