Plan a visit
Open to all, every day
On the north side of Johnson City, ten minutes' walk from the courthouse square. No gate, no fee, no appointment.
Address
Johnson City Masonic Cemetery609 N. Nugent Avenue (Spur 356)
Johnson City, TX 78636
GPS 30.28353, -98.41043. The entrance arch and the state marker are at the corner of North Nugent Avenue and Cemetery Road.
Hours
Daily, dawn to dusk
The grounds are unlocked. Please visit during daylight; the lanes are gravel and unlit.
Getting here
From the courthouse square, go north on Nugent Avenue (Spur 356) about half a mile. The cemetery is on the left, beside the Little League fields and across from the Lake on Flat Creek neighborhood. From US-290, turn north on Nugent at the light in the middle of town.
Questions
Connie Hudson Bissonnet, Secretary, Johnson City Masonic Cemetery Association
Finding your way
The lay of the ground
The cemetery is roughly ten and a half acres in three parts, all reached from the single entry lane off Nugent Avenue.
- The historic section is to the north (left) of the entry lane at the end of the drive — the original 1894 plat. Its family lots are curbed in stone and concrete. Cicero Rufus Perry, the Withers, Lambert, Crider, and Stribling families, and the earliest burials are here. The state marker stands near its edge.
- The Casparis section lies south of the old section. Look for the flagpole and the marble monument to Hattie Casparis Sharp.
- Casparis Section A (lots CA–CF) surrounds the flagpole; the Watson Section (lots DA–DD) lies between it and the drive; Casparis Section C (lots 34–90) runs along the drive toward Spur 356, where the lodge's new hall will stand. Casparis Section B, the strip along the west fence, is reserved for the columbarium.
The burial index gives every grave a plot number such as C13-3: Block C, Lot 13, Space 3. The plats page shows where each block lies. Find a Grave has GPS coordinates for about a fifth of the graves.
While you are here
Visitor etiquette
- Drive slowly and stay on the gravel lanes. Do not drive or park on the grass or over graves.
- Walk between lots rather than across them where you can. The historic curbing is brittle; please do not sit or stand on it.
- Leave stones as you find them. Do not attempt to clean, right, or repair a marker; even gentle scrubbing can strip a century-old inscription. Tell us instead and we will look at it.
- Rubbings are not permitted on the older stones. Photographs are welcome.
- Flowers are welcome. Artificial flowers belong in a stone vase attached to the headstone, not on the grave, and glass containers are not allowed; see the Conditions and Restrictions. Take your trash with you.
- Dogs on a leash are fine; please clean up after them.
- Funerals may be in progress. If you see a service, give it distance and quiet.