Many graves in Indianola Cemetery reflect the hardships faced by residents of Indianola, one of Texas' leading 19th century ports. The earliest marked grave is that of a child, William Woodward, who died in 1852, when cholera and yellow fever epidemics swept through Indianola. During the Civil War, the town was occupied by Confederate and Union soldiers, and men from both sides are buried there. Victims of the 1875 and 1886 hurricanes that devastated the town are also interred in the cemetery.