photographer

[ For my FREE book about cemetery symbols, click here. The following is an adapted excerpt from my book 6 Feet Under Texas: Unique, Famous & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State. And, yes, that’s an affiliate link. I earn a few pennies if you buy my book after clicking it – at no extra cost to you!]

Historic Cemetery with Buried Treasure

It’s true! There really was gold buried in a Texas cemetery! The oak tree it was buried beneath is located by the entrance of a beautiful cemetery.

Today, however, most people drive right by this historic oak tree without realizing the important role it played in the founding of Fort Worth, Texas.

To learn the full story, read on. To see where the tree stands and what it looks like, be sure to watch my 10-minute video: Buried Treasure in a Texas Cemetery.

Greenwood Memorial Park is a gorgeous historic cemetery spread over more than 190 acres in Ft Worth, Texas. Although it was formally established in 1909, it’s still in use. It’s a car-friendly burial ground with a winding 2-lane road running through it.

Most folks drive right by…

Shortly after the entrance, there’s a traffic circle with a big oak tree in the center. Most people drive right by this oak tree without realizing the important role it played in the founding of Fort Worth, Texas.

In fact, this tree once had gold buried beneath it!

$10K in gold buried under an oak tree

In 1861, the state of Texas seceded from the Union and America’s Civil War began. At the time, a man named Charles Turner (1822- 1873)  who was a farmer, merchant, and Texas Ranger was not entirely comfortable with the idea of turning all of his hard-earned cash into Confederate notes.

That’s why, in 1861, Charles Turner buried an estimated $10,000 in gold beneath an oak tree on his farm! ($10K back then would be a whole lot more these days, of course.)

Suddenly, Confederate money was worthless

In 1865, the Civil War ended and Confederate money was worthless. That’s when Charles Turner returned to his farm and dug up his buried treasure.

He used much of this gold to help Fort Worth, which at the time was a young city struggling to build its infrastructure and pay back northern creditors. For this reason, Charles Turner is considered one of the founding fathers of Fort Worth. 

When he died in 1873, Mr. Turner was buried in Pioneer’s Rest, which is the oldest cemetery in the city.  (I plan to visit there again soon. I’ll get photos of his grave when I do and make a video.)

The land that was once Mr. Turner’s farm is now Greenwood Memorial Park. This is where the oak tree that kept watch over his buried treasure lives on.

It’s a Bicentennial Tree, too!

There are two plaques at the base of this majestic Texas Live Oak, a.k.a. Quercus fusiformis, if you want to get technical. One plaque describes why this historic tree is known as the Turner Oak.

The other plaque, placed by the Daughters of the Revolution, explains that since this beautiful oak was alive when the United States Constitution was signed, it has also earned the title of Bicentennial Tree. Pretty cool, eh?

Most folks drive right by

Since the Turner Oak is located in a traffic circle near the main cemetery entrance, most people drive right past it without realizing all the history it has witnessed. 

Are there historic trees near you?

What about your neck of the woods? Do you know of any historic trees where you live?

The Turner Oak is just one of many historic trees here in Texas. I learned about it from a book called Famous Texas Trees.

Speaking of books, this blog post was an adapted excerpt from my book, 6 Feet Under Texas: Unique, Famous & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State. If you enjoyed this tale, check out the rest of the book by clicking here.

Want to see more photos of the Turner Oak?

To see exactly what this amazing tree looks like, be sure to watch my 10-minute video: Buried Treasure in a Texas Cemetery.

READ MY BOOKS: To see a list of all my published books, check out Tui  Snider’s Amazon page. 

Learn more about offbeat travel & historic cemeteries at my YouTube Channel

Want a FREE book? Click below:

[ For my FREE book about cemetery symbols, click here. The following is one reader’s review of my book 6 Feet Under Texas: Unique, Famous & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State. (That’s an affiliate link. I earn a few pennies if you buy my book after clicking it – at no extra cost to you!)]

Six Feet – More Than Just a Social Distance

by Russell Andrew

The following book review was written by Russell Andrew and first appeared in the Tarrant County College newsletter:

I’ve had a lot of time to read lately due to staying at home and one of my favorite recent books has been 6 Feet Under Texas: Unique, Famous & Historic Graves in the Lone Star State by local author Tui Snider.

Organized alphabetically by city and packed with pictures, the book includes stories about the graves of wild west gunfighters, depression-era outlaws, rock stars and space aliens to name just a few. 

Ms. Snider even solved the identity of an unknown one-legged tightrope walker (performing with a stove strapped to his back!) who passed away following an accident (What could have possibly gone wrong?) in Corsicana. If he were alive today he would definitely have been on America’s Got Talent!

There is also the story of a hobo who was mummified and went through a carnival, a chicken coop, two headstones, two funerals and a ballad on his way to finally resting in peace.

A famous ragtime composer is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.  Did you know that?  I didn’t.

You can visit the graves of two men in the Old City Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford who were the inspiration for the Lonesome Dove book and mini-series.  I plan to!

Tarrant County graves are well represented in the book with entries from Fort Worth, Arlington and Keller. Being a resident of Keller, I checked out the pioneer burial cairns in Mount Gilead Cemetery. 

Before reading the book, I had no idea that Mount Gilead Cemetery was established in 1847 by the Peters Colony.  So much history is all around us if we just look!

Ms. Snider provides addresses for each cemetery to make planning your visit easier as well as websites and suggestions for further reading.

Check out 6 Feet Under Texas and I guarantee you will learn some Texas history you didn’t know!

If you’re intrigued by Russell’s review, you can check out the rest of the book by clicking here. (Psst! It makes a great Christmas gift for any genealogists or history buffs on your list, too.)

Are historic cemeteries your happy place?

Do you enjoy exploring historic cemeteries as much as I do? Check out my online store: GraveHour Gifts.

READ MY BOOKS: To see a list of all my published books, check out Tui  Snider’s Amazon page. 

Learn more about offbeat travel & historic cemeteries at my YouTube Channel

Want a FREE book? Click below: