Reid's Bend Burial Ground
Bastrop, Bastrop County, Texas, USA – *No GPS coordinates
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Add PhotosBecause members of the James Curtis Sr. family also lived on this Austin tract from 1829 to 1849 and were related by marriage to the Reids, the burial ground might also have been the final resting place for the earliest members of the Curtis (Old 300), Sims (Old 300), and Stewart families. No proof has been found to support this theory. By 1853, the first and most of the 2nd generation of the Curtis family were deceased.
This cemetery is not to be confused with Reid's Bend Hispanic Cemetery (abandoned) which is located on a shelf bank (first flood plain) on Reid's Bend river bend just above the Colorado River. There is a large physical separation of these two Reid's Bend located cemeteries. The cemetery was used in the 1920's and 1930's and on land now owned by Texas Aggregates, Inc. Only 7 graves can be found but others might exist.
Until Sept 2010 the Reid's Bend land was a mixed of cleared, grassy pasture and heavily brush. In June 2001, a group of Reid-Hutchi(n)son descendents tried to locate the cemetery with permission of the present owners, Bar W Ranch. They were unsuccessful. The last time the cemetery had been visited, prior to this, was in the 1950's by Effie and Claude Sharp who had taken her mother to visit the family plot. The Sharps were part of the 2001 gathering. The property has changed hands many times since the Reids. Bulldozing has changed the surface of the land. It is very possible that the cemetery has been bulldozed over. The Sharps recall that most of the headstones are petrified rocks. However, the approximate location can be determined from Bastrop County deed records and a funeral card.
In September 2010, Bar W Ranch cleared some of the brushy land to make new pasture. Remains of a past settlement were uncovered. However, the bulldozer operator had scattered the remains of the archeological sites and burned the debris before he realized the significance of the find. All the finds were in the area that the cemetery was supposed to be based on early records. Bar W Ranch gave permission to Reid and Cindy Sharp and Charles and Linda Reid, descendants of James Reid Sr., to examine the newly cleared land before it was seeded for pasture.
The archeological finds included a large, single rock. According to the Effie (now dec'd) and Claude Sharp in 2001, there was a rock that marked the entrance to Reid's Bend Burial Ground. It was the only small boulder found. The rock was moved by the bulldozer but still remained in the general area. Three home sites used as late as the 1920's and 1930's were found. Bricks, both handmade and commercially made, were found scattered over the ground. A hand dug water well, that was manually lined with plaster, was also found near one of the home sites and the large rock.
Looking at a 1899 topo map of Bastrop County which showed the road to Reid's Bend and comparing it to a modern street map of Bastrop, TX and aerial map of Bar W Ranch, it was determined that the 2010 route to Reid's Bend is almost identical to one in 1899. Following directions to Reid's Bend Burial Ground from an 1889 funeral card, the location and mileage correlates to the location of the newly uncovered archeological site.
When James Sr.'s estate was finally settled in 1854, Thomas Reid [eldest son] bought back the portion of land that contained the burial ground from the new owner, W.J.S. Carter. The men were associated to one another by marriage through the Dancer family. As stated in Deed Book I, page 504, 21 Feb 1855 - 1/2 ac granted to Thomas Reid (pd $1) for land on which James Reid Sr. was buried. The deed also described the cemetery location: "East of the Colorado River near the bank of said River, above the place where the house stands in which Bartlett Sims family [lived]." [Note: Bartlett S. Sims and Samuel H. Reid married Curtis sisters. The Simses later moved to Williamson Co., TX in 1849.] Sims had his residence being "a part of the upper 1/3 part of the league above and aligning the town of Bastrop." The wording in the deed is such that it indicates more than one grave was buried on this half acre. The last know burial recorded was a granddaughter, Rebecca Greg Reid Miley in 1919. The funeral announcement in 1889 referred to the cemetery as Reid's Bend Burial Ground.
Because members of the James Curtis Sr. family also lived on this Austin tract from 1829 to 1849 and were related by marriage to the Reids, the burial ground might also have been the final resting place for the earliest members of the Curtis (Old 300), Sims (Old 300), and Stewart families. No proof has been found to support this theory. By 1853, the first and most of the 2nd generation of the Curtis family were deceased.
This cemetery is not to be confused with Reid's Bend Hispanic Cemetery (abandoned) which is located on a shelf bank (first flood plain) on Reid's Bend river bend just above the Colorado River. There is a large physical separation of these two Reid's Bend located cemeteries. The cemetery was used in the 1920's and 1930's and on land now owned by Texas Aggregates, Inc. Only 7 graves can be found but others might exist.
Until Sept 2010 the Reid's Bend land was a mixed of cleared, grassy pasture and heavily brush. In June 2001, a group of Reid-Hutchi(n)son descendents tried to locate the cemetery with permission of the present owners, Bar W Ranch. They were unsuccessful. The last time the cemetery had been visited, prior to this, was in the 1950's by Effie and Claude Sharp who had taken her mother to visit the family plot. The Sharps were part of the 2001 gathering. The property has changed hands many times since the Reids. Bulldozing has changed the surface of the land. It is very possible that the cemetery has been bulldozed over. The Sharps recall that most of the headstones are petrified rocks. However, the approximate location can be determined from Bastrop County deed records and a funeral card.
In September 2010, Bar W Ranch cleared some of the brushy land to make new pasture. Remains of a past settlement were uncovered. However, the bulldozer operator had scattered the remains of the archeological sites and burned the debris before he realized the significance of the find. All the finds were in the area that the cemetery was supposed to be based on early records. Bar W Ranch gave permission to Reid and Cindy Sharp and Charles and Linda Reid, descendants of James Reid Sr., to examine the newly cleared land before it was seeded for pasture.
The archeological finds included a large, single rock. According to the Effie (now dec'd) and Claude Sharp in 2001, there was a rock that marked the entrance to Reid's Bend Burial Ground. It was the only small boulder found. The rock was moved by the bulldozer but still remained in the general area. Three home sites used as late as the 1920's and 1930's were found. Bricks, both handmade and commercially made, were found scattered over the ground. A hand dug water well, that was manually lined with plaster, was also found near one of the home sites and the large rock.
Looking at a 1899 topo map of Bastrop County which showed the road to Reid's Bend and comparing it to a modern street map of Bastrop, TX and aerial map of Bar W Ranch, it was determined that the 2010 route to Reid's Bend is almost identical to one in 1899. Following directions to Reid's Bend Burial Ground from an 1889 funeral card, the location and mileage correlates to the location of the newly uncovered archeological site.
When James Sr.'s estate was finally settled in 1854, Thomas Reid [eldest son] bought back the portion of land that contained the burial ground from the new owner, W.J.S. Carter. The men were associated to one another by marriage through the Dancer family. As stated in Deed Book I, page 504, 21 Feb 1855 - 1/2 ac granted to Thomas Reid (pd $1) for land on which James Reid Sr. was buried. The deed also described the cemetery location: "East of the Colorado River near the bank of said River, above the place where the house stands in which Bartlett Sims family [lived]." [Note: Bartlett S. Sims and Samuel H. Reid married Curtis sisters. The Simses later moved to Williamson Co., TX in 1849.] Sims had his residence being "a part of the upper 1/3 part of the league above and aligning the town of Bastrop." The wording in the deed is such that it indicates more than one grave was buried on this half acre. The last know burial recorded was a granddaughter, Rebecca Greg Reid Miley in 1919. The funeral announcement in 1889 referred to the cemetery as Reid's Bend Burial Ground.
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Bastrop, Bastrop County, Texas, USA
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- Added: 28 Feb 2011
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2390901
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