Glenwood Cemetery – Last Stop for Houston Elite Then and Now

Glenwood Cemetery began its storied history in 1871 along Buffalo Bayou, somewhat removed from the central portion of Houston. It started on its original 100 acres as a commercial for-profit enterprise. When New York attorney Thomas Tinsley obtain a majority interest in the corporation in 1893, he began siphoning off the Glenwood resources for his own financial gain. Glenwood Cemetery fell into serious disrepair.

Resurrection from Neglect

By 1903, civic-minded Messrs. Baker, Hutcheson, and House had rescued Glenwood from receivership by pledging their own assets against its debt. They placed the cemetery into newly-formed Glenwood Cemetery Association. Eventually in 1969, Glenwood Cemetery, Inc., a true non-profit, would take over.

The Glenwood Cemetery office house dates to 1888, and it still stands. It is Victorian in style and has a basement, unusual for Houston.

Natural Beauty

Glenwood Cemetery has a strikingly beautiful mix of contoured terrain and tall shade trees. In otherwise flat Houston, you only get contours thanks to the ravines adjacent to its numerous bayous.

Near its Washington Avenue entrance, these ravines are cause for some charming bridges that now span parts of the internal street system. The streets were originally dirt roads, but they were paved in the 1920s so as to avoid the frequent dust that flew up. Today, Glenwood has shrunk slightly to 84 acres. However, it still boasts mature oak, sycamore, cottonwood, and ash trees to go with its stately pines.

Magnet for Famous Families

People appreciated the eye-popping beauty of the Glenwood property from the very beginning. The family of Anson Jones, last president of the Texas Republic, chose it as his final resting place.

Here are just a few of the prominent people buried at Glenwood:

Anson Jones, last President of the Republic of Texas (1798-1858)

George Hermann, businessman and philanthropist (1843-1914)

Howard Hughes, businessman, record-setting pilot, movie director, and philanthropist (1905-1976)

Judge Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston and builder of the Astrodome (1912-1980)

Glenn McCarthy, oil tycoon and founder of the Shamrock Hotel (1908-1987)

Gene Tierney, actress (1920-1991)

Roy M. Huffington, businessman and diplomat (1907-1998)

Dr. Denton Cooley, surgeon famous cardiovascular surgeon that performed many early heart transplants (1920-2016)

Many Houstonians are unaware of Glenwood Cemetery. The city has grown leaps and bounds in every direction. These people might really enjoy experiencing this beautiful, quiet oasis near downtown.