Bethany Rest Cemetery

Bethany Rest Cemetery A small group of settlers from Alabama arrived in the Alvarado area, near Chambers Creek, in 1857. Among them were the Frost, Newby, Murphree and Head families. The family of Sampson and Betty Ann Blakely head settled about a mile north of this site in a community that came to be called Fairview. Their son A.A. "Ben" Head and his wife, Sarah Alabama Bethany Newby Head, donated two acres to Bethany Church, originally known as Head's Chapel, in 1903. In 1908, the trustees set it aside as a burial ground. Many of the earliest area settlers were buried in the nearby Buel and Jones cemeteries. At the church's burial ground, known as Bethany Rest Cemetery, the first marked grave, that of fifteen-year-old Marcy Thompson, dates to 1908. Earlier unmarked graves may exist. A cemetery association formed in 1917 and added a fence to protect the graves. The church congregation disbanded in 1960 and donated an additional acre to the cemetery, which today features curbed plots, metal fencing, vertical stones and gated entry. It serves as an important historical reminder of the surrounding rural community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002

Bethany Rest Cemetery is a historical marker in Alvarado, Johnson County, dedicated in 2002. It is one of 71 historical markers documented in Johnson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 139 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.4153, -97.2686 near Alvarado. The nearest cataloged historic site is Head, A. A. and Susanna (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Jones-Egan Cemetery, Buell Cemetery, and Site of Norman Springs & Norman Grove.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5251013172. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.