H.R. No. 203
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, A Historic Texas Cemetery marker was dedicated at
the Old Kit Cemetery on October 27, 2012; and
WHEREAS, Now located within the Irving city limits, the
cemetery is the last remaining vestige of Kit, a small farming
community nestled between La Reunion and Peters Colony; initially
called Gorbit, the community was renamed Kit in 1894, and Isaac
Henry Story, who operated a grocery store in the hamlet, served as
its first postmaster; and
WHEREAS, The site of the Old Kit Cemetery has been used as a
burial ground since 1896, when David Chadwell Britain donated 1.5
acres for that purpose; Mr. Britain made the gift when a family that
was passing through the area asked if they could bury their child,
who had just died, in the grove of trees where they had camped;
following its establishment, many members of Kit's earliest
families were interred at the graveyard, including I. H. Story and
the woman for whom the community was purportedly named, Catherine
"Aunt Kit" King; and
WHEREAS, Among the approximately 680 marked graves in the
cemetery are those of French, German, and Belgian settlers, as well
as individuals who traced their ancestry to the British Isles; some
grave sites belong to Japanese laborers who were employed by the
railroad company that built through the area around the turn of the
20th century and to members of their families; the site also serves
as the final resting place for veterans of the Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean and
Vietnam Wars; the cemetery is still in use today, although burials
are now restricted to direct descendants of the community's early
residents; and
WHEREAS, To promote the upkeep of this historic site, Old Kit
Cemetery, Inc., was formed in 1947, and its members have worked
tirelessly over the decades both to care for the cemetery and to
foster an appreciation for its significance; as a result of their
outstanding efforts, the Irving Heritage Society awarded a
historical marker to the Old Kit Cemetery in 1998, and an Irving
Centennial Celebration Task Force historical marker was conferred
on the cemetery in 2004; the Texas Historical Commission recognized
Old Kit as a Historic Texas Cemetery in May 2010, the same year that
the burial ground entered the Texas RIP guardian program, which
coordinates the preservation efforts of local volunteers; and
WHEREAS, The Old Kit Cemetery evokes recollections not only
of the challenges faced by early settlers in the region but also of
their perseverance, and it is a pleasure to commend those dedicated
volunteers who have given so generously of their time to maintain,
research, and document this site for the benefit of posterity; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of a Historic Texas
Cemetery marker at the Old Kit Cemetery and extend to all those
involved with this project sincere appreciation for their
commitment to preserving the heritage of the Lone Star State.
Harper-Brown
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 203 was adopted by the House on
February 18, 2013, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House