This is a small cemetery at Gatesville at what was the Boy’s Reformatory.

There are 16 graves.

Most died in a fairly short period of time 3-4 years. One died in 1908 and all the others died between 1916 – 1920.

Pneumonia appears to be the major cause of death with Typhoid Fever and Meningitis also showing up on death certificates. I saw a drowning in the river as the cause of another. I suppose while trying to escape.

Times were hard and if they were a long distance away from their homes, they just didn’t have a means or funds to transport the body back. Perhaps many of the families were transient and there really wasn’t a home to go back to.

Below are 10 of the 16 Death Certificates of the young men buried here.