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 Ravenna Cemetery (formerly I.O.O.F. Cemetery) - Ravenna, TX
N 33° 39.884 W 096° 14.066
14S E 756431 N 3728415
Not long ago, the Ravenna Cemetery was the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, before its maintenance was taken over by the town of Ravenna. It is located at the end of Cedar St, southeast of the center of town.
Waymark Code: WM135AZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/19/2020
Views: 2
While the cemetery appears on some maps as "Odd Fellows Cemetery", the granite sign at the gate puts it into stone: "Ravenna Cemetery Formerly I.O.O.F. Est. 1870" is complemented by a rose. The Fannin County website (see below) has a nice page for the cemetery, and it notes that the name was changed officially in 2011 after the town had been caring for the cemetery for some time.
Ravenna itself officially dates into the mid-1880s, when there was a post office here bearing that name, and speculation is that the town's name is derived from the numerous ravines in the area. Ravenna officially incorporated in 1887, but there was settlement as far back as 1850. During its heyday, there were multiple businesses, including banks, a newspaper, a sawmill, a cotton gin, and a gristmill, as well as a school and multiple churches. Unfortunately, there's not much to be found about the Odd Fellows, or even the Woodmen of the World, who also have a cemetery in the area. By the late 1920s, the railroad had ceased operations here, but Ravenna didn't fall over dead. Today, it still has its post office, a few businesses, and about two hundred residents in a scattered rural community.
Location Details:
The cemetery is still active, with over four hundred burials, and it is well-maintained, with a pedestrian entrance as well as a standard gate. Although "1870" is noted on the cemetery sign, there are no visible burials from prior to the burial of two Cravens boys in 1876. Findagrave lists two burials -- Mary Ann and Matthew A. Holybee -- from 1862, but these could be spurious, with even the submitter's acknowledging that this couple was living in Ravenna when they died in 1862, apparently on the same day, with little else available to them.
Date of construction: 1870
location website: [Web Link]
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