Founder's Cemetery, Houston, Texas. I can't deny I was underwhelmed when I first visited Founder's, one of Houston's most historic cemeteries--final resting place for the Allen brothers, who founded the city, as well as associates of Sam Houston, Harris County's first sheriff, and veterans of the Texas War for Independence. When I first caught a glimpse of it as I parked my car along a side street, my impression was that it felt...empty. I suppose I expected it to look as historic as it was, with rows of graves, mausoleums, statues. We get none of that with Founder's; instead, it is a small lot with a few patches of graves and a few trees scattered here and there. The cemetery grew on me, however, as the graves are nicely weathered and with phrases that tell the early story of the city: "A Texan Pioneer," "Buried with Her Babe," "Born In Connecticut" or "Georgia" or "Brooklyn, NY." The downtown skyline fills the eastern horizon, and the gleaming buildings creates a striking juxtaposition with the graves.