Cemetery Fountain Restored

Texas State Cemetery staff and TDCJ trustees have spent three weeks restoring the fountain in the Cemetery’s historic Republic Hill section. The fountain was turned back on for the first time since work began today. Although the original install date is unknown, it could have been installed in 1915 or earlier. The black and white picture below is the first known image of the fountain. The man pictured below was likely the person who installed it. His name is Earnest Barnes and was the caretaker of the Cemetery from 1912 to 1950. His daughter, Viola Gay Barnes, took the picture. Viola and her sisters grew up at the Cemetery and her pictures are the earliest photographic records of the Cemetery.