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 Sand Flat Cemetery
N 32° 16.307 W 095° 53.023
15S E 228373 N 3574212
Texas Historical Marker in front of the Sand Flat Cemetery, providing some background and history of its establishment back in the 1880s. It is located north of Athens on Henderson County Rd 3907.
Waymark Code: WM107AX
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/13/2019
Views: 1
Marker Number: 16734
Marker Text:
In 1856, Joseph M. Stirman of Kentucky donated five acres of his property for the building of a church and school regardless of race, sex, or religion, establishing the Sand Flat community. Of these five acres, two acres signify the resting place for the African American community of this area. The first known burial in 1884 is attributed to Clarrisa Andrews Royall (1844-1884), the wife of Abraham "Abe" Royall (1835-1911). Both are buried here, along with their descendants. Notable burials also include Henry Givens (1843-1923), a successful farmer and school trustee who came to Henderson County as a slave in 1855, Joseph "Joe" Manion, a farmer and influential member of the Sand Flat community, and Abe Royall, a farmer and significant contributor to the area. All three gentlemen are believed to have been brought to Henderson County as slaves and then gained their freedom. By 1867, all three men were registered on the black voters list in Henderson County.
The landscape of the Sand Flat, also known as Sandflat, Cemetery is traditional with concrete, fieldstone, sandstone, and granite monuments surrounded by a chain link fence and shaded by a variety of trees. Burials include settlers to the area and their descendants, veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as burials marking Free Masons. Many of the graves mark the final resting place for teachers, administrators and school board members who were dedicated to the education of their children and others in the Sand Flat community. The descendants of these early families continue to live in this area and care for the cemetery.
Historic Texas Cemetery – 2010
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