EARLIEST Known Burial in Long Creek Cemetery - Hood County, TX - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

While the historical marker references two Haley children, there is no obvious headstone for anybody named Haley who died in 1865. Long Creek Cemetery is a Historic Texas Cemetery, and it is very well-maintained. The caretakers have gone above and beyond in some cases, identified certain graves with newer, complementary markers that are easier to read.

The 1864 burial, that of Thomas Haley, was originally marked by a piece of sandstone (probably a footstone) and another headstone that has since been broken but restored and preserved on a slab of concrete. Across the top is "Sacred to the Memory of" and this inscription:

Thomas Haley

Born Nov 23rd 1863 and
departed this Life Sep
27th 1864

Suffer Little Children to come
Unto Me for Such is the
Kingdom of Heaven

---

A plaque placed by the Long Creek Cemetery Association has a conflicting death date, but it reads:

Thomas Haley
11-23-1863 9-21-1864
LCCA

No such treatment can be found for any Haley family members who died in 1865, although several nearby ledger stones are unmarked or illegible, and probably belong to that grave. Theodotia Haley, probably a sister, is buried nearby, but she died in 1869.

The historical marker elaborates:

This burial ground, also known as Temple Hall Cemetery, is the last remaining vestige of two early pioneer communities in Hood County. It is named for Long Creek, also known as Bee Creek, which runs through the rich farmland of this region. The cemetery served Temple Hall, a community organized by the 1850s, which was thought to be named for an early Masonic lodge. Residents of Center Mill, another area settlement that existed in the mid-to-late 1800s, also used the graveyard, which originated on land donated by area settler John Farrell.

The earliest known burials in Long Creek Cemetery are for the Haley children, who died in 1864 and 1865, respectively. Others buried here include school superintendent, Hood County judge and amateur historian, W.L. Dent; Parker County commissioner Edward C. Atwood; and Hood County Commissioner Albert Hall. Also buried here is Thomas Parkinson, who settled in this area around 1859. He built a grist mill on Long Creek and later a cotton gin. Other interments include early settlers, prominent community leaders and veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War. The cemetery features hand-carved markers, curbing, ledger stones, vertical stones, obelisks, grave slabs, and Masonic, Odd Fellows, Eastern Star and Woodmen of the World grave markers.

The Long Creek Cemetery Association, which formed as early as 1909, cares for the burial ground. Today, Long Creek Cemetery is the last visible reminder of early area settlements and serves as a record of the pioneers who settled this region of Hood County.

FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group Date of FIRST: 09/21/1864 More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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