Historical Markers StoppingPoints.com Historical Markers, Sightseeing & Points of Interest Scenic Roads & Points of Interest
About Us | Photo Gallery | Free Widgets | Featured States | Search Site
Register or Edit LoginRegister
Home Texas Nacogdoches County Nacogdoches Old North Church Cemetery
     

Old North Church Cemetery

  Texas Historical Markers
Nacogdoches, TX, USA

Latitude & Longitude: 31° 40' 2.6436", -94° 39' 29.3292"
 
    Texas State
Historical Marker
     According to legend, the first burial in this cemetery was that of a young girl whose family, traveling through the area when she died, buried her here before continuing their westward journey. Oral tradition also suggests that William Whitaker was already interred in a brick vault by the time Richard Sparks set aside land on this site for use as a community graveyard in 1838. The Union Baptist Church (later the Old North Church) was organized in the spring of that year. The oldest marked grave is that of Saletha Easter Whitaker (d. 1845). Dr. John M. Sparks and his wife formally deeded ten acres including the original five acres set aside by Richard Sparks to the Union church in 1892. The cemetery historically was divided into two sections. The east side was used for the burials of local slaves, many of whom were members of the church, and eventually became a separate cemetery. Other burials of interest include those of veterans of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Texas Revolution. Records indicate that some forty-seven Confederate Civil War soldiers are buried in the southern portion of the cemetery, and twenty-one Union soldiers are interred in unmarked graves. Most of the Union veterans were victims of an epidemic of dysentery during the Reconstruction era. The Old North Church Cemetery Association was organized in 1976. With more than 950 graves in 1998, the graveyard continues to be used by descendants of early church members. The burial ground is a chronicle of the early days of Nacogdoches County. (1998)

This page last updated: 10/30/2010 10:32:18

Old North Church Cemetery Historical Marker Location Map, Nacogdoches, Texas

 
   
Related Themes: , Texas C.S.A., Texas Confederate States of America, Confederacy, Texas Cemetery Markers, Cemeteries, Texan Graveyards,
Burial Grounds and Graves

 
Explore other historical .
 View other
 

See other Nacogdoches County Cemeteries:
Brewer Cemetery
Cove Springs Cemetery
Old Spanish Cemetery
Libby Community Cemetery
Oak Grove Cemetery
Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
Linn Flat Cemetery