Susannah Carter - Fairview Cemetery - Van Zandt County, TX - Homemade Tombstones on Waymarking.com

This cemetery is badly neglected, so one should be careful of critters, depressions, and flora that bites when visiting. This headstone is about the size one would expect for an adult, and lichen is spreading across the top. Its inscription is:

In Memory
of

Susannah. Carter

Died. Sept. 25, 1878
Aged. 47.Y.8M.14 D

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Her Findagrave page (see Web Site) suggests that her husband was William Pate Carter, buried in Cool Springs Cemetery, not far from here. She is also referenced on a 1996 Texas Historical Marker across the road -- someone misread "1878" for "1876" on her headstone -- on the site of the old Fairview school:

R.H. Reeves donated one acre of land in 1875 to the Fairview community for church and school purposes. A one-room log schoolhouse was erected on the site, and part of the land was set aside for a cemetery. The oldest documented burial in the cemetery is that of Susanna Carter in 1876. Most of the graves were dug by family members and friends. In 1945 the last burial occurred at the Fairview Cemetery.

After the log school burned down, another wooden school building was constructed on the site. When the student population increased, another room was added, making the schoolhouse an L-shaped structure. Pupils and their teachers either walked to school or rode horses or mules. Many teachers boarded with local residents.

In the early 1920s, the two-room school was torn down, and the lumber was used in part to erect a larger three-room school. J.F. Liston donated land to the school in 1924 for a teacherage and playground.

The economy of the area was dependent on cotton farming. Cotton production declined in the 1930s-40s, and many families moved away. The school closed in 1945, but was used as a community center for many years until it was destroyed by fire in 1995.

Date of Death: 9/25/1878 Material: Stone Web Site: [Web Link] Date of Birth: Not listed

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