The Steen family's migration west spanned several generations and included a friendship with the Davy Crockett family in Tennessee before they finally settled in Gonzales County in 1846. John Rumley Steen (1824-1910) bought this land, later known as Steen Flat, in 1849. In 1850, he married Mahala Burkett (1830-1881), whose family came from Missouri to Texas in 1830 as part of DeWitt's Colony. When their son, James P. Steen (1851-1863), fell ill and died, they honored his request to be buried under the trees that still shade this site. This cemetery remains as a chronicle of the pioneers and families who settled and developed this area. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2000