Historic gravesites are an intriguing piece of cemeteries as they provide you with the opportunity to pay your respects to those dearly departed we admired in life, but also visit the resting place of the infamous. We all know cemeteries are full of legends, history lessons, and even rumors of being haunted. Many burial grounds are centuries old, and a stroll through the interesting paths is like taking a trip back in time as you never know whose gravesite you will stumble upon.
Here are a few of the most intriguing famous and infamous graves in Texas cemeteries today.
1. Selena (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Photo: Facebook/Brandon Carreira
“The Queen of Tejano” was one of the most beloved singers of our time. Adored by thousands around the world, her angelic voice captivated the hearts and souls of millions of fans with her endearing and catchy tunes such as “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.”
Taken too soon, Selena rests at this historic gravesite in Seaside Memorial Park in Corpus Christi since her untimely death on March 31, 1995.
Photo: Facebook/Phlash Phelps Phunny Pharm
The final resting place of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, is located on his beloved LBJ Ranch.
The complete history from his childhood through his presidency comes full circle as you visit this charming ranch in Johnson City, Texas. You can spend the day touring the childhood home of “one of America’s most noteworthy citizens,” as shared by the website. His granite tombstone is located in the Johnson family cemetery on the ranch.
3. Stevie Ray Vaughan (Laurel Land Memorial Park)
Photo: Facebook/Jukebox Blues
Rock and blues legendary musician Stevie Ray Vaughan is fondly remembered in his resting place in Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.
Vaughan’s untimely death happened in a deadly helicopter crash on August 27, 1990. He hailed from a musical family and learned to play the guitar by going with his older brother Jimmie and his band “The Fabulous Thunderbirds” to his concerts and taking a turn at his guitar.
Photo: Facebook/Jeff Long
One of the most notorious outlaws of his time, John Wesley Hardin is a gunslinger and old west outlaw still garnering the attention of many history buffs around the globe.
Born in 1853, Hardin was a son of a preacher who went to prison for killing a deputy in Comanche in 1878, shared texashighways.com. “As the legend goes, John Wesley was so mean he once ‘shot a man for snoring.'”
5. Bessie Moore (1854-1877)—a.k.a. “Diamond Bessie”
Photo: Facebook/Boo Oklahoma
Legendary stories surround Bessie Moore’s grave (or as she was known as “Diamond Bessie”). Her final resting place is in Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson, Texas.
She was found after a snowstorm with a gunshot wound to her head after having arrived at the river-port city with Cincinnati jewelry heir Abe Rothschild, shared texashighways.com. Rothschild left town shortly after and later attempted suicide but survived after shooting himself in the eye.
Legend has it a man with an eye patch brought roses to Moore’s grave in the 1890s. Rothchild was convicted of the murder but later had the verdict appealed. Each May since 1955 a reenactment of the play-“The Diamond Bessie Murder Trial” is performed.
6. Broadway Cemetery (Galveston, Texas)
Photo: Facebook/Another Tess Creation
One of the most historic and legendary cemeteries in Texas is full of legends, myths, and tales of some of the most famous residents of Galveston and Texas who call Broadway cemetery their final resting place. The whole island is said to be haunted and full of ghost tales. From the cemetery to the restaurants, to the hotels there is a legend to be told. Let’s not forget the terrible storm of 1900 that wiped out most of the town and took the lives of over 6,000 Texans.
The graveyard tours are a history lesson of ghostly details with, “a dash of legendary and alleged ghost stories,” shares its website. Some of its residents include Lizzie Alberti (committed filicide), Bettie Brown (allegedly haunts Ashton Villa), General John Magruder (hero of Galveston during the Civil War), and George Childress (author of the Texas Declaration of Independence who committed suicide).
Photo: Facebook/Tragic Hollywood; Beautiful, Glamorous, and Dead
Glenwood Cemetery is the final resting places of Howard Hughes and his ancestors. “Known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world,” according to Wikipedia.
Hughes was a Jack of all trades, you might say, as he was labeled as a film director, philanthropist, a business tycoon, and even a pilot. A playboy linked to famous actresses such as Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Ginger Rogers, and Ava Gardner. It’s an interesting gravesite to visit as you recollect the details from the movie based on his life-“The Aviator.”
Photo: Facebook/Tiffany Fleming
The notorious male half of the dangerous outlaw duo Bonnie and Clyde is buried in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.
The pair were partners in crime but not in death, as Bonnie is buried in another cemetery in the same city. Barrow was an American outlaw who ran rampant throughout Texas and the Midwest in the 1930s. He was ambushed and killed along with Bonnie on May 23, 1934, according to Wikipedia.
9. Buddy Holley (Lubbock)
Photo: Facebook/Max McNabb
No one can ever forget the legendary Buddy Holly and his memorable tunes that will live on forever, such as “Peggy Sue,” and “Oh Boy.” A rock ‘n roll force to be reckoned with, Holly left his longstanding mark in the music world.
In Lubbock Cemetary, Holly’s distinct and unique tombstone with the original spelling of his last name welcomes visitors from near and far to pay their respects to this talented musician taken too soon. He was killed in a plane crash that took the lives of other rock legends such as Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on February 3, 1959.
10. Smiley’s Grave (Dallas)
Photo: Facebook/Douglas Barricklow
A sad, but poignant gravesite that includes the final resting place of an entire family is located in a Dallas, Texas cemetery.
The tombstone has the names of the parents and their three daughters and the date they all passed away on May 9, 1927. No one is sure of the details of their untimely death, but legend has it that if you lie down, or step on top of their grave at midnight you will feel a force as if it’s trying to pull you down to join them, shared the site weirdus.com.
