Blackland TX · Historical markers
Hamilton-Beeman Cemetery
0.9 mi north-west of Retreat · Directions →
The marker
William Harvey Beeman (1817-1860) received a Mercer colony grant of 640 acres in Navarro County and brought his family here in the 1840s. He and pioneer Samuel Hamilton (1820-1900), who owned adjacent property, each gave one acre to establish this cemetery in the 1850s. The first burial was that of Hamilton's infant son in 1859. Both Hamilton and Beeman, a freighter and local justice of the peace, are buried here. Gifts and purchases of additional land have enlarged the cemetery to over 47 acres.
Where it stands
Source: Texas Historical Commission, Texas Historic Sites Atlas, record 5349007207, read 17 September 2026.