Early Castroville colonist and Dutch immigrant Marie Becker Ihnken was buried just north of this site in 1847 by her son, Gerhard. German-born Gerhard married Marie Jeanne Pichot on October 22, 1846. The Pichot family arrived on the first of Henri Castro's ships and, though they originally intended to return to France, remained in Texas after Marie Jeanne's father, Jean Nicolas, died of complications from a rattlesnake bite. Important civic leaders in early Castroville, the Ihnkens were farmers who raised cattle and owned and operated a sawmill, a store, and a fruit orchard on their extensive lands. Gerhard was especially remembered for his agricultural contributions and is said to have brought the first reaper and the first binder to the Castroville area. One of the oldest cemeteries in Medina County, the Ihnken family plot contains eight family members in marked graves, while several others are unknown. Marie Becker Ihnken is one of the few older Castro colonists whose grave is still marked, and a freedman employed by Gerhard Ihnken is said to be buried there. To avoid disturbing unmarked graves, the cemetery has been inactive since 1950.