History
The Village of Dido was founded in 1848 and once was a thriving community with a post office, stores, school, church and cemetery. Dido was named for the mythological Queen of Carthage.
In 1887, Dempsey S. Holt donated three acres for the school, Methodist church and the cemetery.
In 1894, Dr. Isaac L. Van Zandt, a pioneer physician and Confederate veteran, deeded additional land.
The earliest marked grave in the cemetery is that of Amanda Thurmond (1878-1879), granddaughter of Dave Thurmond, who first settled this area in 1848.
Dido declined after the railroad bypassed the town in the 1890s. Residents moved to towns along the railway and Dido lost its post office, school and most of its residents.
The Methodist Church is still there and is now the oldest Methodist Church in Tarrant County.
Among the 1,000 graves, many are from pioneer families.
Today, Dido is often referred to as a ghost town.
The cemetery is a non-profit cemetery, managed by the Dido Cemetery Board of Directors who continue to host the traditional annual event called “Dido Days”.
Dido is located at the north end of Eagle Mountain Lake, between Fort Worth and Alliance Airport.
Gallery
Dido Cemetery has many graves dating back to the late 1800’s – early 1900’s
Texas Songwriter, Townes Van Zandt’s gravestone
The Van Zandt Family
Isaac Van Zandt was a co-writer of the Texas Constitution, one of the founders of Fort Worth and who the Fort Worth county of Van Zandt was named after. His son, Dr. Issac Van Zandt was a pioneer physician, a Confederate veteran and a well respected doctor and resident of Dido.
There is a Van Zandt family plot to the left of the entrance where many of the Van Zandt family members were laid to rest, including the influential singer, songwriter, guitarist, fiddle player, and performer, Townes Van Zandt.
Townes Van Zandt was the son of Harris William and Dorothy (Townes) Van Zandt. The Van Zandt’s were a wealthy family whose ancestors were one of the founding families of Fort Worth. The University of Texas at Austin law school, Townes Hall, bears his mother’s family name.
Townes wrote many songs, including “Pancho and Lefty”, “For the Sake of the Song”, “If I Needed You”, “Tecumseh Valley”, “Rex’s Blues”, and “To Live Is to Fly” which are considered masterpieces of American songwriting. His songs were covered by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.
Address
Morris-Dido-Newark Rd (RR 1220)
Dido, Tarrant County, Texas