Nestled among the tall pines of southeastern Texas, straddling the county line between Walker and San Jacinto Counties, lies the rural community of Old Waverly. It is the remnant of “Waverly”, a bustling town of the mid-nineteenth century when Texas was a new state, cotton was king, and the planter regime still held forth against the rising tide of anti-slavery. It’s a place of pastoral charm with a beautiful old Presbyterian Church, a historic cemetery—a little slice of early Texas history.
More specifically, Old Waverly (not to be confused with the town of New Waverly located 8 miles to the west) is located about 50 miles northeast of Houston, roughly mid-way between New Waverly and Coldspring along State Highway 150. From the New Waverly Exit off Interstate 45, drive east on Highway 150; about 8 miles into your trip you will come to the community of Old Waverly. There is a historical marker and (as of the date of this writing) a convenience store and gas station known as the County Line Grocery (where you’ll need to turn north). Use the GPS in your car or phone. Google Maps shows both the location of the cemetery and the church, which are not directly on Highway 150 but on two-lane dirt roads—Old Waverly Cemetery Road and the Browder Loop W.
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Old Waverly: East Texas Ghost Town 
Susan this is great! Please continue. So well written.
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I am searching for gravesite of Johan Ernest Wilhelm Wissel who was killed in a sawmill accident in Nov. 1892 at the Old Waverly sawmill. Any suggestions where I might find more information?
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my GG grandfather, Carl Gustav Fitze, a composer, musician and businessman came from Halberstadt, Germany and was a music teacher for Waverly Institute. He started the town band (newspaper article about 1856?) has photo of him and band playing for an outdoor concert in Waverly. His second wife, Sarah Caroline Baldwin had been a student at Waverly Institute.
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Mr & Mrs Fitze raised 20 children in the Waverly area, and eventually sons opened a grocery store, and a stable. Mr. Fitze also worked for the railroad, buying up Spanish land grants to facilitate expansion of the railroad through Texas. Of course, when the railroad changed course (does anyone know reason? I expect because the land railroad company wanted was either not suited for that use or owner refused to sell) and the station was now 8 miles away, so the towns people and businesses moved with it, calling the new site “New Waverly.” The post office closed and Waverly was no more. Mr. Fitze (widower) had his house moved to Houston, where his street was named after him and he taught music at what became University of Houston. He continued buying up land for the railroad until his death. He has a FB page.
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During the Civil War, Mr Fitze was a supplier to the army, his wife and daughters and other Waverly women nursed soldiers in the camp hospital.
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