Funerary Grounds: Concordia Cemetery

Originally published on February 15, 2020.

Concordia is a historical cemetery located in the magic and heart of El Paso, Texas. It was established in the 1840’s and remains the last of the 900 acre ranch owned by Chihuahua trader’s Hugh and Juana Maria Azcarate Stephenson. The first burial in Concordia took place in 1856. Currently there are over 60,000 graves present including many lawmen, soldiers, texas rangers, pioneers, and war veterans. It holds the most Chinese graves in Texas and houses Jewish, Mormon, Masonic, and African-American sections - veterans of the Civil War known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

I was fortunate to be able to visit this somber, gorgeous cemetery while on a small yet magical trip to El Paso in January right before partaking in a ghost tour downtown. The ghost tour was on (and in honor of) the Chinese New Year, during which our guide discussed how Concordia is the only cemetery in Texas to have a designated area for the Chinese. Many of the Chinese who immigrated to Texas in search of work died on the job and their bodies were simply left in the place where they died. Many worked on the Southern Union Pacific Railroad before it was completed in El Paso in 1881. The earliest of those who immigrated opened a Rooming House and a grocery store, which still stands as a historic building. At one time in El Paso’s history, the downtown Chinese community was rich and vibrant, however racial violence, the ‘Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)’ passed by the U.S Government restricting Chinese immigration, and many other factors their community was vanishing. The brutality and hardships that these people endured was horrendous and sickening, to people who had greatly influenced and helped build the city of El Paso (a theme not unfamiliar to the United States). Those who could afford a burial wanted to be with their own people and as far away from the Texans around them as possible. Concordia was the place that made room for them.

I have struggled to find the right words to explain my experience at Concordia. It felt like a place for the lost and found, which isn’t exactly a feeling unique to itself as most cemeteries house those who have been forgotten, lost, remembered, and discovered by old or estranged family members, friends, and strangers at different points in time. There was something different about this historic cemetery. It felt lively in a way that the dead were very communicative about what kinds of offerings they wanted and who would receive them however, at the same time it felt extremely quiet. It felt guarded. I wasn’t going to get their stories in my one-time visit. There had been too much suffering and it felt as though some of the dead were still processing. I noticed many mounds were unmarked, some with stones circling them and some flanked by nothing…naked mysteries that I longed to know and understand.

Many of the children’s graves in Concordia have a crib atop them and some are also adorned with dolls, trinkets, and other sweet offerings to the small ones who have passed along. This section is said to have the most “hauntings” or “sightings” in the entire graveyard. One of the yard’s eternal residents Florida J. Wolfe also is said to be the most active in her sightings. The adornments around graves were some of the most unique I’ve seen anywhere so far. Concordia is under the care of the Concordia Heritage Association, an organization created in 1990 by a group of citizens who were appalled by the neglect of this great historical landmark. Their mission is to bring education, cultural, and historical programs to the cemetery that discuss and promote the rich history of not only the landmark, but El Paso as a whole. One may go on a ghost tours, attend historical walks, the annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration and special events through out the year.

Happy Cemetery Hunting!

Unmarked graves and mounds in Concordia, gorgeous wooden crosses, and questions unanswered.

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// www.concordiacemetery.org //