A small church cemetery in the middle of nowhere Delta Bayou region of Arkansas near Pine Bluff contains several historic graves of note, among them the grave of Sister Agnes, who founded the St Mary's School in 1838 and died a year later. The cemetery also is the final resting place for Francis Vaugine, a Jefferson County Pioneer who served in the American Revolution and War of 1812.
According to the Find A Grave website, there are 57 burials here. See (
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Blasterz' good friend (and adoptive grandfather) Lynn Gaines brought us here. Really if you did not know this was here you would never find it. It is way off the beaten path, but is deeply historic and worth the visit. ---> Bring mosquito repellent. <-- the buggers chased us off after only a few moments.
The hard to read plaque on the church reads as follows:
"ST MARY'S CHURCH
1782 -- Built on a barge at Arkansas Post
1832 -- Moved from barge to land in Jefferson County
1869 -- Moved to Plum Bayou
1927 -- Installed Brick Exterior"
Our friend Lynn was active in several genealogical societies and had done the research on Francis Vaugine, an early Jefferson Co. AR pioneer, in order for him to get a Veterans Administration-issued tombstone for service during the Revolutionary War. He also helped the DAR chapter get a new tombstone for Vaugine's wife Mary.
From the St. Joseph Catholic Church website, some interesting parish history of St. Mary's: (
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"St. Mary's Plum Bayou, The First Catholic Church In Arkansas
In 1838, Sr. Agnes Hart and several Sisters of Loretto came to Arkansas to start a school at what was the first St. Mary’s on the Arkansas River. Since the area was prone to flooding, the school and church was moved to Plumb Bayou in 1869, several miles inland on the eastern part of the Arkansas flood plane. Sister Agnes didn’t survive but one more year and was buried in 1839 at the original St. Mary’s church site. When the church was moved, Sr. Agnes’s body was exhumed and was found incorrupt even though she was buried without a casket (she was buried on a bed of roses).
St. Mary’s church has been at the current site since 1869. The exterior facade was bricked in 1927 and the interior ceiling was dropped and covered. During some point, the statues were removed and apparently given away or lost. Recently, some Eucharistic vessels were found as well as a crucifix that was carved by Chief Saracen, a local indian chief who converted to Catholicism in the early 1800’s and apparently known by the St. Mary’s sisters and priests. Chief Saracen is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery. The cross located above the entrance is thought to be original to the church and was covered in copper to protect it from woodpeckers."
Maj. Francis Vaugine, a veteran of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, is buried in a St. Mary's Cemetery northeast of Pine Bluff AR, off the AR SH 31 along St. Mary Catholic Church Road
Blasterz' good friend (and adoptive grandfather) Lynn Gaines brought us here. Really if you did not know this was here you would never find it. It is way off the beaten path, but is deeply historic and worth the visit. Bring mosquito repellent.
Lynn was active in several genealogical societies and had done the research on Francis Vaugine, an early Jefferson Co. AR pioneer, in order for him to get a Veterans Administration-issued tombstone for service during the Revolutionary War. He also helped the DAR chapter get a new tombstone for Vaugine's wife Mary
According to medallions placed with his tombstone, Francis Vaugine served in both the American Revolution and the war of 1812. During the Revolution, he was assigned to the 4th Company of the 1st Louisiana Battalion, Continental Army.
Next to his grave, another new stone has been placed to mark the grave of his wife, Mary G. Vaugine.
Their original tombstone looks to be from the mid-to-late 1800s, and reads simply:
"Erected to the memory of our Uncle and Aunt
VAUGINE"