Birdville Cemetery, Haltom City

The Birdville Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in the metroplex.  It came into existence about 1850.  The earliest known burials in the cemetery are W. W. Potts and his wife Margaret J. Potts who died in 1852.

Dr. B. F. Barkley, who sided with the North during the Civil War, donated the first land for the cemetery.  His daughter Alice, at the age of 15, was appointed Post Mistress of Birdville in 1866.  His son Lon became Post Master of Fort Worth in 1906.  Dr. Barkley and Lon are buried in the cemetery.

The cemetery covers about 5 1/3 acres, and there are over 1,000 people buried in it.  A walk around the cemetery will show where many of the street names in Haltom City, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Smithfield, and Fort Worth came from.  The familiar street names include Rufe Snow, Melbourne, Reeves, Popplewell, Bewley, Brooks, McCullar, Hardisty, Hovencamp, Kinman, Portwood, Rumfield, Walker, Boaz, Booth, and Callaway.  These are the names of pioneers sleeping there.

There are, at least, 46 Confederate and one Union Civil War veterans in the cemetery. Fifteen of the Confederate graves are marked by iron crosses.  One of the Confederates, Henry Clay Daggett, also fought in the Mexican War. There are two Spanish American veterans, six World War I, 20 World War II, four Korean, and one Vietnam veterans are known to be buried in the cemetery.

Three historical markers in the cemetery indicate its significance to the community.  In addition, the Stone of Honor, near the front gate, lists the name of people who have made a significant contribution to the preservation and perpetuation of the cemetery.

The Birdville Cemetery Association was first chartered with the state of Texas in 1917 when W. O. Reves was president of the association, and the charter was renewed in 1967.  Money to operate the cemetery comes from association dues, sales of lots, donations, royalties. and interest from a permanent operating fund.  The permanent fund was obtained originally by soliciting funds in 1970 from families with people buried in the cemetery.  Only income from the permanent fund is spent on operations and improvements.  Unless specifically designated for some purpose, all funds received from donations, dues, royalties, and sales of lots go into the permanent fund.

The cemetery has about 3 to 5 burials each year, and there are a large number of spaces available for sale.  The cemetery recently added a curbed location for the burial of cremains, designated as The Garden of Eden.  Construction of the Garden of Eden was built and donated by Rip and Cheryl Newton Helton to the cemetery.