The only fenced plot in Indianola's Old Town Cemetery, the original 19th-century iron fence around the Rahtgens family plot shows the toll 175 years and and countless inundations by the hurricanes that periodically rage in Matagorda Bay can take.
The additional coordinates are for the gate to Old Town Cemetery where the historical marker is located.
There are three generations and nine members of the Rahtgens family buried in this fenced family plot. Eight members of the family are named on this zinc tombstone, and one has a separate tombstone in the corner of the plot. Blasterz believe that this tombstone was erected in 1886, most likely after the other tombstones for deceased family members, who died before the 1885 hurricane, were washed away. We think this because on two sides of this family tombstone the family name appears, and two sides of this tombstone, the date 1886 appears.
From the birth dates, Blasterz think that John H. Rahtgens is the family patriarch, who emigrated from Germany, and probably landed in Indianola in the early 1840s, when Indianola was a center for European immigration into Texas. He married Alice E. Rahtgens, an Irish immigrant to Texas who also most likely came through the port of Indianola in the 1840s.
They had seven children, six of whom are buried in this family plot.
This zinc tombstone is especially striking because, in a way, this tombstone is a microcosm of the entire history of Indianola itself, from its beginnings as a landing port for German and European immigrants in the 1840s, through its rise as a busy international seaport, its history as the starting point for a deadly Yellow Fever epidemic in 1867, and its vulnerability to hurricanes, not to mention the everyday hardships of living in Texas in the 19th century, especially for young children.
The Yellow Fever outbreak that began in Indianola in June of 1867 spread north and east through Coastal, Central, and East Texas cities before crossing the Mississippi River and affecting communities throughout Louisiana, especially New Orleans. The epidemic raged through summer until it finally began to wane after the first frost on November 26, 1867.
Four thousand people in Texas died of Yellow Fever in 1867, including two young children of John & Alice Rahtgens: James J. and William J Rahtgens.
Two more of John & Alice's children died shortly after the town was destroyed for a second time by a hurricane in 1885: Siblings John and Henrietta Rahtgens.
Four other of John & Alice Rahtgens children either died before the yellow fever epidemic of 1867: James A and Richard Rahtgens; OR they lived into the 20th century: Thomas Henry and Alice E. Rahtgens. [Alice moved to Port Lavaca with the rest of the refugees from Indianola. She married there, had 6 children, and is buried in the Port Lavaca Cemetery. Source: Find-A-Grave (
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For more on the various historical events of Indianola that are directly or indirectly reflected on this tombstone, see the following websites:
The East Texas History website: (
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"The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1867 explores one of the most devastating events in the history of the Lone Star State. Originating in Indianola in June, the virus spread by way of infected persons to Galveston and then across East-Central Texas. Millican, Huntsville, La Grange, Brenham and Chappell Hill, Alleyton, Hempstead, Goliad, Navasota, Victoria, Montgomery, and Houston were all hard hit. The virus did not finally stop until November 26th with the first frost of the year. By then, approximately 4,000 Texans had died, which suggests that close to 40,000 had become infected."
The Indianola Hurricanes, from the handbook of Texas online: (
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"INDIANOLA HURRICANES. The first of the two great Indianola hurricanes that resulted in the demise of the town began on September 15, 1875, when Indianola was crammed with visitors attending a trial growing out of the Sutton-Taylor Feud. The hurricane blew in from the sea, carrying the water from Matagorda Bay deep into Indianola's streets. Two days later, when the storm had subsided, only eight buildings were left undamaged, and fatalities were estimated at between 150 and 300 persons. After being rebuilt on a lesser scale, Indianola was completely destroyed by a second hurricane that blew in on August 19, 1886, this time accompanied by fire. This storm was considered worse than the first one, but because there was less town, it caused less damage."
All of the above combined turn Indianola from the second most important port in Texas, and the busy seat of Calhoun County government, into a ghost town by 1886. See Texas Escapes: (
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