History
Adams Cemetery
Lorenzo H. Adams (1849-1912) came to this area from Arkansas after the Civil War. He was elected constable in 1880 and later served as justice of the peace and deputy sheriff. Upon the death of his daughter Georgia Anne (1871-1884), Adams donated one acre including her grave as a public cemetery.
History
Antioch Cemetery
Although the oldest recorded tombstone in this cemetery is dated 1849, land was not formally set aside for that purpose until 1875. The property was deeded by Thomas Jefferson Miller soon after the death of his son, Theo. Miller (d. 1889) and his second wife, Patience (d. 1888), are buried here, as are many members of the Holmes, Williamson, Donald, Poss, Capps, Hudson, and McDaniel families.
History
Bell-Fountain Cemetery
Served by the early Kinlock post office, this farming region was settled by pioneer families who shared this community cemetery. The earliest marked grave is that of Beulah P. Hough (1839-1850). Several Confederate veterans are also buried here. Z.T.P. Hill deeded the five-acre burial ground to Bell-Fountain Baptist Church, founded before the Civil War (1861-1865).
History
Bracken Cemetery
Pioneer settlers Thomas and Mary Bracken brought their family to this area in the 1830s. Part of their land was set aside as a burial ground for family members and for the surrounding community. The earliest marked grave is that of Clarence Liston (d. 1876), the infant son of Perry and Acenie Bracken Liston.
Civic & Local
Carthage Book Club
IN 1907, TWELVE AREA WOMEN, INCLUDING TEXAS' FIRST WOMAN SENATOR, MARGIE NEAL, ESTABLISHED THE CIRCULATING BOOK CLUB. FOCUSING ON CIVIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADDITION TO LITERACY, THE CLUB'S FIRST MAJOR PROJECT WAS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CARTHAGE'S FIRST SIDEWALK, CONNECTING DOWNTOWN TO THE SANTA FE RAILWAY.
History
Deadwood Cemetery
The community of Deadwood was established in the 1830s by the Adam LaGrone family. A family burial ground was begun on the LaGrone farm in 1847 when Adam LaGrone's wife, Christeena, died. Adam was buried next to his wife nine years later. Although the land did not officially appear in county deed records as a public cemetery until 1859, members of the community were buried here before that time.
History
DeBerry
Site of 1850 sawmill and grist mill. Settled mostly by cotton planters. Center for markets and gins. Oil development after 1900. Named for Col. Alfred W. DeBerry (1829-1903), 28th Texas cavalry, dismounted, Confederate army. In 1863-65 legislature, helped pass laws to give confederacy men, revenue and supplies, support soldiers' families and defend Texas frontiers.
History
Grand Bluff Cemetery
This cemetery originally served the pioneers who settled in the nearby community of Grand Bluff (.5 mi. W), an early ferry crossing on the Sabine River. The earliest known burials, dated 1838, are for Mary Frances Hoyle and Mrs. Robert Wyatt. Land for the cemetery was donated by David Vawter, an early ferry operator.
History
Holland Quarters Cemetery
This African American cemetery is located on land deeded to former slaves by Spearman Holland after the Civil War. The site also included the Pine Grove Baptist Church, a school, and lodge hall. Though the site contains more than 500 graves, only a fourth are marked. The oldest documented burial is that of the unnamed infant twin daughter of William and Betty Holland Rayson in 1895.
History
International Boundary Marker
In the early 1700s, France and Spain began disputing their New World international boundary that included this area; each nation claimed what is now Texas. When the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, the boundary was still in dispute. Leaders agreed to a neutral area between the Arroyo Hondo and the Sabine River, and the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty formally defined the border.
History
Isaac R. Youngblood
Panola County pioneer Isaac R. Youngblood was born about 1793. He and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Texas from Washington County, Georgia, before 1846. In 1847 the county commissioners named him overseer of Grand Bluff Road and part of a team to lay out a new road. In 1858 he deeded two acres of land at this site for a school and church. Use of a nearby spring was also granted in the deed.
History
James Rowe
(March 17, 1811 - Dec. 3, 1868) Texas War for Independence soldier (1836) James Rowe had migrated from North Carolina. Prospering as a tanner, he was commissioned to help organize Panola County (1846); served as senior warden of Sam Sanford Lodge No. 149, A. F. & A. M. (1851); served in 4th Texas Legislature (1851-53); and gave the land now occupied by this cemetery.
History
Jim Reeves
(August 30, 1924 - July 31, 1964) Born in Galloway, James Travis Reeves played professional baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league team until an injury forced him to abandon that career. He became a radio disc jockey and formed a country western band. Joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, he became a world famous singer.
History
Jonathan Anderson
Kentucky native Jonathan "Old Shelby" Anderson, a grandson of American Revolution veteran Bailey Anderson, settled in this area when Texas was part of Mexico. He served in the Texas Revolution and fought at the Battle of San Jacinto.
History
Margie Neal
(1875-1971) A native of Panola County, Margie Elizabeth Neal began her career as a teacher in 1893. She became editor and owner of the East Texas Register newspaper in 1904. A respected educator and leader in the woman suffrage movement, she was the first woman appointed to the State Normal School Board of Regents in 1921.
History
Midyett Springs
These springs, used by settlers prior to 1850, became the center of a thriving farm community and health resort in the 1880s. Originally known as Breckenridge Springs, the name was changed in 1887 when a post office opened in the store of Spencer Midyett. The town included a cotton gin, sawmill, stores, and school.
History
Mt. Zion Cemetery
This site was originally part of a tract owned by pioneer area settlers Richard and Polly Golden. They later gave it to their daughter Elizabeth and her husband Cornelius Crenshaw, who buried a son here in the 1840s. They deeded the property to trustees of the Mt. Zion Methodist Church and Cemetery in 1850.
History
New Prospect Cemetery
This cemetery began in 1870 in the rural community once known as Scruggs. The oldest documented burial was that of Elizabeth Scruggs (1820-1870). Land was donated for a church and graveyard by homesteaders Robert Alexander Craig and his wife Martha Jane Freeland. The cemetery contains more than 100 unmarked graves.
History
Old Center Cemetery
In 1856, land for the Old Center Cemetery was first donated by James Rowe, a community pioneer and a veteran of the Texas War for Independence. Rowe's grave, dated 1868, is one of the oldest in the cemetery. The earliest marked grave, that of Arminta C. Cash, dates from 1865.
Architecture
Old Panola County Jail
Designed by J. N. Carnes and completed in 1891, this structure served as the Panola County Jail for sixty-two years. The two-story brick building exhibits Italianate and Romanesque style influences and features a symmetrical facade with projecting tower, arched openings, and corbelled detailing. It was used as a city jail from 1953 to 1965.
Civic & Local
Shady Grove Baptist Church
Established to serve the rural residents of northeast Panola County, Shady Grove Baptist Church was in existence by 1880. The first pastor, the Rev. J. R. Alexander, continued to serve the congregation until 1907. The original one-room wooden church structure was replaced by a second frame building used as a church and school. A new brick facility was built in 1954.
History
Sugar Hill Cemetery
Elijah Wyatt, who came to Texas in 1838, is thought to have died and been buried here in 1849. His son-in-law, Terrell Henson, deeded land to T. A. Sullivan in 1855, reserving one acre for "the graveyard and meeting house," supporting the local belief that the site was already in use as a local burial ground. Thomas C.
History
The Panola Watchman
Tom M. Bowers (1837-1916) printed the first issue of the Watchman on July 2, 1873. He had published the Carthage Banner here from 1859 until he left about 1861 to serve in the Confederate army. Type was handset, and news items came from other publications and letters to the editor. Following Bowers' ownership, the paper was headed by three state representatives-- T. E.
History
The Respess Family and Respess Creek
In the 1870s Richard Ormand Respess (1839-1906) and his wife Nannie Lois Williams moved here from Harrison County. Respess gave the land and taught at the first school built in the Frog Pond community, known later as Liberty Chapel. His oldest son Charlie O. (1859-1917) lived near this site and operated a general store.
History
Waldrop Cemetery
According to local oral history, this community graveyard began in 1872. Jemima Guest Gentry, who had mentioned to her family that a nearby cedar grove would make a nice cemetery plot, died on June 8, 1872. Her family obtained permission from landowners James C. and Lucretia Harris Waldrop to bury Jemima at her chosen site.
Elsewhere in Texas
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