Valera Cemetery 
Valera vicinity,  Coleman County, Texas
Cemeteries of Texas Coordinator: Dolores I. Bishop

Information provided by the State of Texas Atlas Site

Location: 
1 mile south of Valera on FM 503
 

Marker:
 The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad established 
a railway line about eight miles southwest of Coleman in 1904. 
The town of Valera developed in the area around the train depot. 
Its business district, established parallel to the railroad, reflected 
the needs of its citizens. Businesses included a post office, 
a hotel, a bank, a flour mill, a cotton gin, an opera house, grocery 
stores, a blacksmith shop, a cafe and a water well in the middle of 
the street. Recognizing the need for a community cemetery, Mrs. Minnie
 K. Harris deeded more than five acres of land in 1922. One of two 
cemeteries serving the community, it contains more than 300 marked 
graves, and at least five unmarked graves. The first recorded burial was t
hat of Mrs. N. C. Kidwell in 1922. Many prominent citizens of the area 
are buried here, including Dr. H. H. Mitchell (1866-1927) who came to 
Valera in 1905. The only doctor in town, Dr. Mitchell helped establish the 
first school, was a deacon in the Baptist church and president of the First
State Bank. Also buried here is local law enforcement officer Richard A. 
Pauly. The cemetery contains burials of veterans from the Spanish American
 War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. (1996)