Final Destinations: A Travel Guide for Remarkable Cemeteries in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana [Paperback]

Bryan Woolley (Author), Larry Bleiberg (Author), Leon Unruh (Author), Jean Simmons (Author), Kathryn Straach (Author), Tom Simmons (Author), Bob Bersano (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Almost anyone who reads this interesting volume will be hooked on tombstones and cemeteries before they reach the final page." -- Texas Illustrated Magazine

From the Publisher

"Every cemetery is worth vising, and the people in them are worth trying to remember. They were much like us." Thus the writers of The Dallas Morning News set out to explore the cemeteries of Texas and the surrounding states for the newspaper's Travel section. The stories serve as history lesson and travelogue to the cemeteries, chronicling the resting places of famous people and the tragedies borne by ordinary people.

The compilation reaffirms our fascination with cemeteries and their status as tourist attractions. People visit cemeteries in large numbers. Evidence of crowd control abounds from signs directing traffic to the grave marker of President Clinton's mother in Hope, Arkansas, and the large steel cage protecting the tombstone of Billy the Kid at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, to the monument in New Orleans made famous by the movie Easy Rider and Bonnie Parker's coveted headstone in Dallas, relocated to prevent theft.

The stories also demonstrate that the reasons people flock to cemeteries are as varied as the people interred there. Cemeteries hold some of the most interesting sculpture and folk art in our region. Unusual graves include the Sturrock Cemetery in Tyler County, Texas, started when the family arrived from Scotland in the 1830s. The dozen sandstone crypts are said to resemble the style of the family's houses in Scotland. The graves at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation in Polk Country, Texas, are adorned with decorations such as sea shells, stones, skillets and teddy bears.

New Orleans cemeteries are a tourist industry by themselves, featured in movies and Anne Rice novels. The oldest standing cemetery is St. Louis No. 1, on the edge of the French Quarter. The most famous grave here belongs to Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen. Louisiana's French and Cajun cultures come alive in its cemeteries and many plantations, such as Afton Villa and Rosedown, contain Cemeteries.

Cemeteries hold fascination for history buffs and family genealogists, and this book is a valuable guide for both. It provides information about the more well-known gravesites, such Sam Houston's at Huntsville's Oakwood Cemetery, but also the less well-known locations. Two graves in unassuming cemeteries are the final resting places of two of the greatest blues artists of all time: "Blind" Lemon Jefferson in Wortham, Texas, and Huddle "Leadbelly" Ledbetter in Mooringsport, Louisiana. Do you know where Hoss Cartwright is buried? The authors of this handy guidebook do.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574410857
• ISBN-13: 978-1574410853
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cemetary book, May 31, 2000

By 

LilOkie "lil0kie" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Final Destinations: A Travel Guide for Remarkable Cemeteries in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana (Paperback)

This is a good reference book. It lists some different cemeteries in the Texas,New Mexico,Oklahoma and Arkansas region. Some I already knew about but lot I did not. It has some historical information along with several pictures of the actual cemeteries. Would have liked more information listed about some of the cemeteries in Oklahoma. I'm sure a book on each state and its famous or interesting cemeteries could be written. I would recommend it for people doing genealogy in this region.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful, July 1, 2011

By 

Jeanna - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Final Destinations: A Travel Guide for Remarkable Cemeteries in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana (Paperback)

Love this book. I am excited to go to some of the places described. Has a lot of information about each cemetery.