EARLIEST Marked Identifiable Grave in Rock Springs Cemetery - Parker County, TX
N 32° 52.383 W 097° 50.831
14S E 607848 N 3637802
A 1985 Texas Historical Marker at Rock Springs Cemetery, near Peaster in rural Parker County, TX, indicates that the earliest marked identifiable grave here belongs to a young girl, Mary L. Sullivan, who was buried here in 1867.
Waymark Code: WM119A3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/10/2019
Views: 1
This
cemetery is out in the woods, behind a budding subdivision, and it requires a little work to find. It has experienced periods of neglect, but restoration efforts have really done justice to what remains here. Mary is buried with her grandparents, near the fence, and what survives of her marble headstone is mounted on a concrete base. There is a flower at the top, and below it is:
Mary L.
Sullivan
Born
---
And that's all there is. However, whoever restored this headstone has filled in the blanks by presumably drawing in the dates while the concrete was still wet:
Oct 24 1866
Aug 23 1867
They also etched something into the base -- we can make out "Sullivan" and maybe "1985" -- but time and the elements haven't been too kind. The historical marker provides some background:
This cemetery contains the graves of many of the pioneers of Rock Springs, a village that served as a social center for area farmers. Thirty-one graves are marked with native stones, while a few are identified with engraved headstones. The earliest marked identifiable grave, dated 1867, is that of Mary L. Sullivan. The last marked grave in the cemetery, that of Mary J. Robertson, bears the date 1882, the same year the town of Peaster (1 mi. W) was established and Rock Springs began to decline. The cemetery is one of the few remnants of this early Parker County community.
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