Johnson City Lodge No. 561 · A.F. & A.M.

History

The Johnson City Masonic Cemetery

Established in 1892, on land purchased by the lodge from Julia Ann Moore Johnson — widow of the town's founder. A Historic Texas Cemetery since 2002.

The wrought-iron entrance arch to the Johnson City Masonic Cemetery, topped by the Square and Compasses of Freemasonry, with the gravel road leading into the cemetery beyond.
The cemetery entrance — Square and Compasses, on the road our brethren purchased in 1892.

A Place of Quiet Remembrance

The Johnson City Masonic Cemetery has been cared for by Johnson City Lodge No. 561 since 1892, when brethren Joseph Bird, W. H. Withers, and G. M. Nash, acting on behalf of the lodge, purchased the land from Julia Ann Moore Johnson, widow of James Polk Johnson — the town's founder and namesake.

More than 250 graves rest there. Among the interred are community leaders, veterans of military conflicts from the War of 1812 to Vietnam, and the celebrated Texas Ranger Cicero Rufus Perry, who died in 1898. The earliest marked graves date from the 1890s. The Texas Historical Commission designated the cemetery a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2002.

The cemetery is open to visitors. We ask that visitors treat the grounds with the dignity due any place of burial — and we welcome inquiries about brethren or family members interred there.

A Few Notable Interments

  • Cicero Rufus Perry — Texas Ranger; died 1898. His service on the Texas frontier in the 1840s and 1850s is recorded in his own published memoirs and in regional histories of Blanco County and the Hill Country.
  • Charter-era brethren of Lodge No. 561 — many of the men who received the lodge's charter in 1882 are interred in the cemetery, alongside their families.
  • Founding families of Johnson City — the Johnsons, the Moores, and others whose names appear on streets, schools, and landmarks throughout Blanco County.
  • Veterans — men who served the United States in conflicts spanning from the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War.

The lodge maintains an internal record of interments. Genealogical inquiries can be directed to the lodge secretary via our contact form.

The Texas Historic Cemetery marker at the Johnson City Masonic Cemetery, dedicated 2002 by the Texas Historical Commission. The marker bears the seal of the Commission and the inscription telling the cemetery's founding history.
The Texas Historic Cemetery marker, dedicated 2002.
Bluebonnets in spring bloom among the gravestones of the Johnson City Masonic Cemetery, with a granite marker for Cleo Smith (1892–1949) at center and additional family stones beyond.
Bluebonnets in the cemetery, springtime.

From the Historical Marker

As the Marker Reads

In 1892, local masons Joseph Bird, W. H. Withers, and G. M. Nash, on behalf of Johnson City Masonic Lodge No. 561, purchased land at this site from Julia Ann Moore Johnson, widow of town founder James Polk Johnson. Early marked graves date from the 1890s and include many community leaders, as well as veterans of military conflicts from the War of 1812 to Vietnam. Also interred here is the celebrated Texas Ranger Cicero Rufus Perry (d. 1898). With over 250 graves, the historic Johnson City Masonic Cemetery is an important reminder of early settlers.

— Historic Texas Cemetery, 2002