The land for the Lavaca Cemetery was donated in 1880 by a local landowner, W. W. Woodruff. We have no history on Mr. Woodruff except his cemetery monument. Burial sites were not sold in the early years. When a person died, their family selected a spot and usually marked it with a native stone until a monument was erected. Many people were buried and never had a monument. Over the years, the stone was moved, buried or washed away and no marker is there today. In the early days there was never a caretaker. Families or friends took care of the areas around their graves, usually cleaning and decorating with flowers in the spring. In the early 1900s and elderly man who lived nearby spent a lot of time caring for the cemetery. He was never paid, just the enjoyment he received for helping others. His name was Joe Carruth, better known as Uncle Joe. Later, a committee was formed to see that the old cemetery was cleaned each year. The committee included Anna Bo West, Sabra Ray, Dick Dooly, Willie Ferrell and Tennie Moore. When there was a death, men in the town volunteered and dug the grave and covered it. A local citizen, Charley Dooly, was responsible for the graves, but he had much help from other men in the town. In later years George Ferrell bought delinquent tax land and donated it to the cemetery. This was called the new cemetery. It joined the north side of the original cemetery and extended across Houston Street to the original Missouri Pacific railroad track. A gravel drive marks the division between the old and new cemeteries. In 1974 local native T. H. Brown moved back home from California. He saw the needs of the cemetery and began developing the new land. The land was divided into 10 by 20 foot sites extending from South to North and numbered 1 to 23 East and West. Numbers were set with a permanent concrete marker. The lots were sold at reasonable prices. The money from plot sales and other donations were deposited in a certificate of deposit at the local bank to provide for the upkeep of the land each year. The new cemetery committee was organized, made up of T. H. Brown, President; Jessie Harkreader, Sec. /Treas.; Jim Ray, Laverne Brown, Frances Atkins, Mike Ray and Freddy Graham. In the mid 1970s, T. H. Brown heard about perpetual care for cemeteries. Each plot owner was asked to donate $100 for future upkeep. This name was accepted, but not all contributed. Upkeep for both the old and new sections is maintained, regardless of the original perpetual care contribution. In 1998, T. H. Brown decided to give up his job as President and gave it to Freddy Graham. As the new President, Freddy Graham is responsible for mowing, cleaning, grave digging, plot locations, selling sites and many other small jobs. The actual duty of digging the grave is now handled by paid back-hoe contractors. In 2005, money became available to construct a sidewalk across sections of the city. The cemetery committee signed an agreement to give the City of Lavaca an easement for the sidewalk to run along the western edge of the cemetery property. Mitchell Brewer was the mayor when the sidewalk project was discussed. Jessie Harkreader approached the Mayor about the possibility of erecting a permanent sign or marker with the cemetery name engraved. The mayor contacted Rayburn Green about the marker. Rayburn decided that a native stone would be best and wouldn’t need upkeep. The stone was purchased from Central Arkansas Stone Company for $100 and set up by Rayburn Green. Sand blasting and lettering for the name was extra. Freddy Graham and Jessie Harkreader began working on a flower bed and plants to surround the stone. Rayburn Green, Freddy Graham and Jessie Harkreader are responsible for the erection of the permanent stone and name of which they are very proud. Any donations toward upkeep or other help in any way are always accepted and appreciated.