EARLIEST Marked Grave in Olive Branch Cemetery - Wise County, TX
N 33° 19.981 W 097° 51.335
14S E 606505 N 3688789
A Texas Historical Marker at historic Olive Branch Cemetery, northwest of Chico in rural Wise County, indicates that Maria B. Smith has the earliest marked grave in this cemetery, dated 1875.
Waymark Code: WMMYNP
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/25/2014
Views: 1
To visit the cemetery, take Texas SH 101 from Chico about 3.5 miles north. Turn west onto CR 1667 and travel about a mile, then take CR 1661 about another mile. Turn south onto CR 1771 and follow it to where it forks (and dead-ends): Off to the left is a private drive, and to the right is a cattle guard that you'll cross to take an unpaved road to the cemetery.
The historical marker text tells the story:
The first burial at this site occurred in the early 1870s. Area settlers H.H. Bradford, B.P. Cox, J.C. Cartwright, and J. C. Weaver, donated the property for the interment of a young girl who had died on a wagon train. The earliest marked grave is that of Maria B. Smith (1805-1875). During the 1890s, a sanctuary was built north of the burial ground for a Methodist Episcopal Church. As declining soil conditions caused families to move from the area, the congregation became inactive. The chapel was removed by 1914, but the Olive Branch Cemetery remains in use.
Maria's grave marker is a small obelisk featuring a hand, reaching upward to Heaven, with the following inscription:
Maria B.
Smith
Born
Feb. 14, 1806.
Died
Sept. 25, 1875
Sleep on dear Mother
take thy rest God has
called thee home he
thought it best.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1875
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|