Texarkana was founded by the Texas and Pacific Railroad on December 8, 1873. On the first day town lots were sold, Anthony Ghio and Col. R.W. Rodgers bought property, and they joined several other residents to form Sacred Heart Catholic Church under the leadership of Father Theodore Buffard of Galveston, who served much of the region's Catholic population. The following year, the congregation celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in its first sanctuary. Two years later, Col. Rodgers donated land for the church cemetery after his young daughter, Agnes Bernard Rodgers, had been buried there the previous year. Over time, the congregation grew, sponsored a sister church in the city, established a school, and later developed a second burial ground and new church facilities. The cemetery includes ironwork by the local LeGrand family and sculpture by Raffl Studios of Paris, France. Immigrants from sixteen countries are buried there, and the varied monument inscriptions reflect the congregation's diverse history.