Old Bayview Cemetery
historic place
Old Bayview Cemetery in Corpus Christi, Texas, is the state's oldest federal military cemetery. Its origins date to 1845. In September 1845, a steamship boiler explosion killed seven soldiers. General Zachary Taylor secured land from Corpus Christi founder H.L. Kinney for their burial. U.S. Army engineers laid out the cemetery, with the first military funeral on September 14, 1845. After Taylor's army departed in 1846, Old Bayview became a community burial ground. It is notable for integrated burials, without racial or religious segregation, a rare practice for the era. The cemetery holds veterans from multiple conflicts and pioneer settlers. A historical marker, erected in 1967, commemorates these details. Old Bayview Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. It provides insight into early Corpus Christi and Texas history.