McHenry Cemetery is a small but historically significant family cemetery located in the rural Navidad–Lavaca River region of Jackson County, Texas. Established in the mid-19th century, the cemetery serves as a lasting testament to some of the earliest Anglo-American settlers in this part of South Texas and reflects the hardships, resilience, and community ties of frontier life.

The cemetery is most closely associated with the McHenry family, one of the pioneering families of the area. Among those interred is Captain John McHenry (1798–1878), an early Texas pioneer whose life closely parallels the broader story of Texas settlement. Born in Ireland, McHenry immigrated to the United States in 1812 at the age of 14. He served in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. After adventures with Jean Lafitte and Simon Bolivar, he came to Texas during the Mexican period. After periods of hardship, including imprisonment in central Mexico, McHenry returned to Texas and ultimately settled along the Lavaca River, where his family established deep roots in the region. He participated in early military and political events tied to Texas independence, including the Long Expedition of 1819 and the opening stages of the Texas Revolution, taking part in the Battle of Gonzales in 1835 and the Runaway Scrape in 1836.

Burials at McHenry Cemetery span from the 1840s through the early 1900s and include members of the McHenry family. The presence of numerous children’s graves is a sobering reminder of the realities of 19th-century frontier life, where disease, limited medical care, and harsh living conditions claimed many lives at an early age. Together, these graves tell a deeply personal story of family, loss, perseverance, and faith.

The cemetery contains approximately two dozen known graves and is representative of the small, rural family cemeteries that once dotted the Texas landscape near homesteads, farms, and river settlements. Such cemeteries often served not only as burial grounds but also as enduring markers of land ownership, kinship, and community identity.

In recognition of its historical and cultural value, McHenry Cemetery has been officially designated a Historic Texas Cemetery by the Texas Historical Commission. This designation acknowledges the site’s importance in preserving the heritage of early Texas settlers and ensures that its historical significance is documented for future generations.

Today, McHenry Cemetery remains on private property and is largely unchanged, retaining its quiet, rural character. Though modest in size, it stands as a meaningful link to Jackson County’s pioneer past and to the men, women, and children who helped shape the early history of the Navidad and Lavaca River region.

McHenry Cemetery is an important reminder that Texas history is not only found in famous battlefields and towns, but also in small family cemeteries where the stories of everyday pioneers continue to rest beneath the soil.