La Reunion Cemetery Plaque

A silent testament to dreams of utopia, La Reunion Cemetery Plaque stands before us. La Reunion Cemetery Plaque tells a tale of a forgotten community. In 1855, French, Belgian, and Swiss settlers, guided by the allure of a socialist paradise, established the La Reunion colony near present-day Dallas. The plaque marks not only the cemetery but the remnants of a vision. The inscription, “Burial Place of French, Belgian, and Swiss settlers brought here 1855-58 by Company for European American Colonization in Texas,” summarizes the colony’s brief existence. This very spot was on the road connecting La Reunion to the Trinity River, where colonists ingeniously set willow fish traps. La Reunion Cemetery, sometimes called Fish Trap Cemetery, holds the remains of some of these utopian dreamers. Early burials include Pere Lagogue, an aged French grenadier, and a child of the colony’s director, F. Cantagrel. The colony itself, plagued by financial troubles, harsh weather, and internal conflicts, dissolved in 1857. But La Reunion’s story didn’t end there. Families like the Loupots, Remonds, Reverchons, and Santerres remained, becoming influential figures in Dallas’s burgeoning business and cultural scene. They continued to use this cemetery for family burials as late as 1939. La Reunion Cemetery Plaque and the quiet ground it guards offer a poignant reflection on the fragility of dreams, yet also the enduring legacy of those who dared to pursue them. The colony may have faded, but its mark remains etched on Dallas history, whispered by the wind through the trees of this peaceful cemetery.