The tract of land on which the Nameless Cemetery and Nameless School are located was first surveyed in the 1850’s. The area attracted numerous settlers by 1868 and by the 1880’s there was a small community. There have been many owners of the property through the years. In 1885, R.W. Turner bought the property and from 1901 to 1907 he transferred ownership to his son Bell Turner.
On Jan. 16, 1906, Bell Turner and his wife Rose deeded one and one half acre to Travis County, Texas “For a public free school and burial grounds and church purposes for all denominations.” On June 21, 1910, Bell & Rose Turner gave one additional acre adjoining the original piece of land to Travis County for the Fairview School District.
In 1880, the local citizens had begun to call their settlement Fairview. They applied to the federal government in Washington for a post office. After the postal authorities rejected the name Fairview and five other names that were submitted (as these names had already been taken), the citizens replied in disgust “Let the post office be nameless and be d---d!” Hence, that is how the community became known as Nameless.
In 1970 the community of Nameless was awarded a Texas Historical Survey Marker that was erected on the school property.
In 2009, the Nameless/Fairview Cemetery Association was formed to help preserve and upkeep the old cemetery. Membership is $20.00 a year and open to anyone who wishes to join. There are approximately 169 burials there with at least 35 of these unmarked. The earliest known grave site was in 1882.
The association has an Annual Cemetery Meeting the first Saturday of every October and Clean-Up Days the last Saturday of March and September each year.
There has been a school on the site since 1870 to the present time. It has been used as a school and a place of worship through the years. The present school was built in 1909 on the same site as the original. It is a one room school house with the old wood burning stove still in place. It was known as Fairview School until the time it closed in 1945. It has recently been renovated by the Lake Travis Education Extension Assoc., a group of ladies that meet the second Thursday of each month at 10:00am at the school. They also meet on most Mondays at the school from 11:00 to 2:00 for quilting. The organization diligently worked to raise matching funds for a grant from the Texas Historical Commission Preservation Trust Fund Grant program and have turned it into a place of pride to be remembered for many generations to come.
There is a great book about the Nameless community written by a member and current President of the LTEEA. The name of the book is “Nameless, Its History and Its People” by Genny Kercheville. The price of the book is $10.00 and can be had by mailing a check made out to the Lake Travis Extension & Education Assoc. or L.T.E.E.A., P.O. Box 5116, Jonestown, TX 78645. This book goes into much more detail about the Nameless area than room here will allow.
The cemetery and school are located on Nameless Road which can be reached several ways, but the most convenient way is by going on US 183 between Leander and Cedar Park and turning west onto FM 1431. Go 6 miles west on FM 1431 to Nameless Road. Turn right and travel 1.3 miles to the cemetery and school which are on the left.
Community Responses
These comments were left on the original blog post and preserved here.
Hello. Are th books still available?
You would have to contact Genny Kercheville at 512-267-1455 to see if she still has any books.
Is there any way to get into the cemetery, cannot seem to figure out a way to walk to it without trespassing
Yes, there is a code box by the gate. You should wait a few seconds for the gates to close because the people who live close by have a horse and he will get out if given the chance. Do you have family buried there? I'm asking because I would like to include you on our mailing list if so to let you know what's going on with the cemetery.