W.A. Barker - Meredith Campground Cemetery - Henderson County, TX
N 32° 20.656 W 095° 52.279
15S E 229758 N 3582219
A sandstone grave marker is at the final resting place of W.A. Barker, in the historic Meredith Campground Cemetery in northeastern Henderson County, north of Athens, TX.
Waymark Code: WMZVFF
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/08/2019
Views: 0
Mr. Barber's headstone is nestled in with some newer headstones, as well as some from the later part of the 19th century. Lichen is doing its work on the headstone, but the inscription is still legible. Someone simply scratched it into the stone:
W.A. Barber
Apr. 16
1876
Age
84
The 1991 Texas Historical Marker in front of the cemetery tabernacle gives "August" as the month of death, probably a misreading of the stone, and it notes that Mr. Barker was the first burial here:
North Carolina native Eber Meredith, his wife Caroline (Ross), and their four children moved to this area of Henderson County in the 1850s. Eber Meredith bought 320 acres of land in 1859 and purchased an additional 160 acres four years later.
In 1875 a schoolhouse was built near the Meredith home. A Methodist church was organized under a brush arbor near the schoolhouse in 1876, and in 1878 Eber Meredith officially deeded ten acres of land for the church. An open-air tabernacle was built that same year, and the first annual camp meeting was held in the summer. The church and camp meeting became known throughout East Texas, and in some years attracted crowds of as many as 2,000 people.
One of the area's early settlers, W.A. Barber, died on August 16, 1876, and was buried at the campground. His was the first grave in the cemetery, which eventually grew to include the burials of many early settlers, including Eber and Caroline Meredith and their descendants, as well as veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam.
The present tabernacle was erected in 1890. It features a hipped roof with changes in pitch capped by a cupola. Drop shutters cover openings on each side.
Date of Death: 4/16/1876
Material: Stone
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date of Birth: Not listed
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