On Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, community members gathered at Cooke Cemetery off Lakeland Drive to honor the memory of fallen soldiers with a brief but heartfelt flagpole dedication ceremony.
The ceremony began with a prayer led by John Thomas, chaplain of the Liberty Fire Department. Standing near the newly erected flagpole, Thomas offered solemn words of gratitude and remembrance:
“Lord, our God, we give thanks to you for the great land of our birth with all its liberties and many blessings. Today we especially give thanks for those who serve our country in its hour of need and for our fallen comrades who have given their very lives in that service. May we never forget that sacrifice. Lord, watch over those military men and women on American and foreign soils this day, knowing the real and potential dangers of their work. They stand ready to preserve a cause of freedom with devotion to duty,” he said.
The flagpole was purchased using funds from the cemetery’s perpetual care fund, according to Harris “Dee” Jackson, a longtime Liberty firefighter and member of the Cooke Cemetery board. The fund, which also covers general upkeep, has in recent years supported fencing improvements and extensive clearing of overgrown sections of the historic grounds.
Cooke Cemetery, designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2018, holds deep roots in the history of Liberty. Originally established as Griffin Cemetery, the burial ground traces its origins back to the 1840s when Jackson Hawkins Griffin — a Texas Revolutionary War veteran and local settler — allowed families to bury their loved ones on his land.
Following Griffin’s death in the Civil War, the property eventually came into the hands of Dr. James P. Cooke, who donated it to the Liberty Methodist Church in 1881. The cemetery, renamed Cooke Memorial Cemetery, served as a private burial ground until 1981, when restoration efforts reopened it to public use.
Now operated under the care of the local cemetery board, the cemetery continues to evolve while preserving its rich heritage. Jackson shared that a new section, Section C, has recently been opened for burials.