The area now known as Pioneer Cemetery is composed of the remnants of four early graveyards. The graves, dating from the 1850s, include many of Dallas' early settlers and civic leaders. Two of the graveyards that now make up Pioneer Cemetery were associated with early Dallas fraternal organizations. The earliest marked grave in the section once known as the Tannehill Lodge No.52 Masonic Cemetery is that of Elizabeth McPherson, who died in 1853. R.P. Rogers (d.1852) is the oldest known interment in the section once belonging to Dallas Lodge No.44 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Some of the land nearby was once used as a cemetery by the Hebrew Benevolent Association. The property was deeded to Congregation Emanuel in 1912, and in 1956, the graves were moved to the Emanuel Cemetery. The fourth section, known as Old City Cemetery, was formally deeded to the city of Dallas in 1871. Its oldest marked grave, that of John Henry Long, is dated 1870.

The last burials in what is now called Pioneer Cemetery took place in the latter part of the 1920s. The monuments that have remained over time are significant reminders of the history of the city of Dallas.

Given to city 1929 in memory of pioneer William Penn Ruddick, farmer and dairyman, and Mrs. Ruddick. History was made here even before Ruddick arrived, however. In 1840 Colonel John Henry Moore and 90 Indian fighters wiped out a Comanche village on the Colorado nearby. The creek that runs through the park was named for Chief Lone Wolf of the Kiowa Indians, who camped along the creek banks. In 1880 Co. B of the Frontier Battalion, under Captain Sam McMurry, was ordered here to combat Indian attacks. With the coming of the Texas & Pacific Railroad in 1881, immigrants began to flood the area. W.P. Ruddick (1851-1914) and his wife Sarah (Hutchens) moved from Oregon and set up housekeeping in a half-dugout until lumber could be shipped from Fort Worth. Ruddick, a Quaker, was one of the first in Mitchell County to raise cotton. He also planted an orchard and operated a dairy, for which he transported the first registered Jersey and Hereford cattle into the county. He ranched and drilled water wells for his neighbors as well as himself. Soon after the donation of the original 20-acre park by Ruddick's heirs, an amphitheater and stage were built here. The park now contains 138 acres.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes Yates (1878-1944), son of the Rev. John Henry "Jack" and Harriet Yates, grew up next door to this property (in a house later relocated to Sam Houston Park). Yates followed in his father's footsteps as a civic and religious leader in Houston's Fourth Ward, originally known as Freedmen's Town, a spiritual, cultural and business district for African Americans in Houston since the Civil War. Following his graduation in 1906 from Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, with a degree in printing, Rutherford Yates taught school in Vinto, Louisiana, and Palestine, Texas, before moving to Dallas with his wife, Erie (Sherrod), and their infant daughter. In 1908, they moved to Houston and resided in the Yates family home until this house was completed in 1912. A well-preserved and typical example of the middle class residences built in the Fourth Ward in the early 20th century, the Yates house features leaded glass windows, a wraparound porch with Classical columns, and doors with transoms and sidelights.

During the time that the Yates family occupied this house, Rutherford Yates worked with several African American printers and taught at the Houston Academy (founded by his father) where he had attended school as a young boy. In 1922, he and his brother Paul established the Yates Printing Company, which grew and prospered over the years until it closed after 1978. At a time when commercial lodging for African Americans in Houston was limited, Rutherford and Erie Yates and their children -- Johnnie Mae, Olee and Rutherford -- often opened their home to visiting dignitaries and delegates to church and other conventions. The house remained in the Yates family ownership until 1994.

Built about 1828; used as a place of defense against the Indians and known as Moore's Fort in honor of its builder and owner, John Henry Moore, 1800-1880, noted Indian fighter and Commander of the Texans at the Battle of Gonzales, October 2, 1835. The City of La Grange was established May 17, 1831 on his land.

New York native John Bremond (1813-1866) built a dry goods store at this site as early as 1847. Soon, his dry goods department faced Pecan (Sixth) Street, and the grocery department faced Brazos Street. Active civically, he served as a member of the group that encouraged the eventual construction of the Houston & Texas Central Railway, which was associated with Bremond's brother Paul. John Bremond, a former firefighter, was instrumental in establishing Austin's first hook and ladder company. His sons Eugene and John, Jr., who were also active in the city's firefighting, joined him as business partners in 1865, forming John Bremond & Company. After their father's death the next year, the sons continued the business. In a back room of the store, Eugene operated a private loan operation that would become the State National Bank, or "Bremond's Bank." He sold his share of the family business in 1870 but continued operating the bank, which received its charter in 1882. John, Jr. Then made his brother-in-law, John H. Robinson, Jr., a partner. The John Henry Robinson family, proprietors of the J.H. Robinson & Son General Merchandise Store on Congress Avenue, was closely linked to the Bremonds, with three marriages among the children. The Bremonds' store continued, shifting to wholesale operations after the railroad came to Austin in 1871. In 1905, it became one of the early companies to roast, grind and distribute its own coffee, eventually shipping its products across the state. The business moved a few blocks away in 1924 and finally closed its doors in 1967. At the time it was demolished in 1979, the two-story limestone building was reportedly the oldest commercial structure in Austin.

The community of Lutie, named for early settler Lutie Gresham Templeton. Traces its history to 1909. Two years previously, local citizens had formed the Pleasant Valley School about one mile northeast of the townsite. Community leaders moved the school to Lutie in 1912, renamed it, and added a room. A third room was added in 1929, and the school continued to serve area children until 1937, when it consolidated with the school in Samnorwood (4 miles northwest). Land where the school was located reverted back to the family of the original donor, John Henry Young, Sr. (1874-1950).

In the early 19th century, the Alabama Indians -- then a large tribe -- made their headquarters on this site, and called their village "Ta-Ku-La," which meant "Peach Tree." Two trails blazed by early pioneers crossed here. A north-south trail came from Anahuac on the Gulf of Mexico, over the Neches River, leading onward to Nacogdoches; The other ran east-west from Opelousas, Louisiana, through what is now Moscow, to present Huntsville, then west to San Antonio. Other trails diverged from this: to the Galveston Bay area, San Felipe de Austin, and Goliad. The crossing of the trails made this a trading center of importance. With the coming of white settlers, the Alabama Indians withdrew, and the remnant of that tribe is now located about 15 miles south -- occupying the only Indian reservation in Texas. In Old Peach Tree village, some historic homes are marked. It is also site of the Kirby museum, founded by John Henry Kirby (1860-1940), who was born here, and whose career included service as a legislator, as well as leadership in lumbering, banking, oil development and railroad building.

John Henry Swann deeded this land about 1900 for educational purposes so that area children would not have to travel to Little Valley (3 mi.N) to school. In response, the Little Valley School closed and its building was relocated here. At its peak, Swann Hill offered ten grades of instruction to more than 100 students. In 1929, it was consolidated with the Pettit School (2 mi.W), and the schoolhouse was relocated again to enlarge that institution. Though operating only briefly, Swann Hill School was typical of early rural schools of the period.

This site became the center of spiritual and cultural activity in the Kirbyville area in 1898, when John Henry Kirby gave two town lots to the Baptist church for the erection of a sanctuary. The building was shared with the Methodist congregation until 1905, when the Methodists built their own structure.

In 1916, the Baptist moved to other locations and a group of Free Methodists occupied the site. The property was sold in 1925 to private enterprise and used for secular purposes until 1962, when it was purchased by the Church of Christ.

This burial ground originally served pioneer settlers of the Lamar community. Founded by James W. Byrne (d.1865), a native of Ireland and a veteran of the Texas Revolution, it was named for his friend Mirabeau B. Lamar, former president of the Republic of Texas. The earliest grave is that of Patrick O'Connor (1822-54), a bookkeeper for Byrne's business operations in New Orleans. The town of Lamar ceased to exist by 1915 and the cemetery was neglected until the 1940s when it was restored through efforts by the family of John Henry Kroeger, Jr. (d.1944).