Texas Historical Marker Dedication
Osage was designated a Historical Texas Cemetery in 2016, and after the funds had been raised to purchase a marker, a Dedication Ceremony was held April 28, 2018.
The Text of the marker reads as follows:
Osage Community Cemetery
Osage first began as a community of new settlers, many from Tennessee and Mississippi, on the blackland prairie near spring-fed Harvey's creek. The community was deeded ten acres from the Henry Austin five-league survey in 1856, approximately one-quarter acre of which eventually was devoted to a community cemetery. In 1873, an additional acre was purchased for the cemetery.
Newly-arrived settlers included the families of Burford, Goode, McLeary, Moore and Shaw. A few citizens of the Republic of Texas also moved to the Harvey's Creek area when land became available. Six were buried in the Osage Community Cemetery: William B. and Sarah (McMillan) Scates, Robert G. Morgan and two of his daughters, Sallie and Eliza, and Eliza's husband, James McMillan. Scates, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, was buried in Osage before both he and his wife were reinterred in Austin at the Texas State Cemetery in 1929.
The monuments in the cemetery, as old as 1860, vary from handmade sandstone markers and false crypts using stone from Harvey's Creek to imposing granite and marble obelisks. Masonic emblems and Confederate markers are numerous. Not all burials are marked; however, in 2001, a cenotaph was erected with names of forty-six of those known to be buried in the cemetery but from whom there was no existing marker. Standing the test of time, the Osage Community Cemetery remains a quiet testimony to those first men and women who braved the hardship of pioneer life and created a community that lives on in the hearts and minds of many.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2016
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
Dedication Ceremony
Program of Events
Welcome
Linda Swanson, President, Osage Community Cemetery Board, gave a welcome speech to open the program. Reverend Michael Peschke said the invocation and led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag and Pledge to the Texas Flag. The Reverend also led in the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Texas, Our Texas."
Opening Remarks
Joye Johnson, Marker Chairman, Colorado County Historical Commission spoke about the history of Texas historical markers.
Acknowledgments and Recognitions
Rox Ann Johnson, Historian, Osage Community Cemetery Board, spoke about the people and work done in collecting the historical information on the community and the people interred in the cemetery.
Comments
Ty Prause, Colorado County Judge, spoke about growing up in the area and how the history of these places and the people that lived here mean more to you as you get older.
History of Osage Cemetery
Mary Anne Pickens, Founding President, Osage Community Cemetery Board, spoke on the history of the Osage community and cemetery.
Marker Unveiling
George "Doug" Goode, longtime Osage Community Cemetery caretaker, unveiled the new Texas Historical Marker.
Reading of the Marker Text
Willa Jepson, Secretary, Osage Community Cemetery Board, read the text of the new cemetery historical marker.
"Ashokan Farewell"
Rachel Pickens played the "Ashoken Farewell" on her violin. Reverend Michael Peschke gave the benediction to close the program.
Maps
Bob Pickens created several maps to show the old Tobin Township and the Osage community
Refreshments were served.