Plano Mutual Cemetery - Plano, TX - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The Plano Conservancy calls these "Wayside Signs", and this one's main text is flanked by a timeline and some history of the Forman family, along with a few inset photos with captions. The center text reads:

In the early 1800's, this land now known as Collin County, Texas, was part of Mexico. In 1836 Texas won its independence from Mexico, becoming a sovereign nation. The broad borders of this new Republic of Texas encompassed several future U.S. states. Hoping to promote settlement, the Congress of the Republic of Texas offered parcels of free land, known locally as Peters Colony. Many of the families responding to heavy advertising came from Kentucky and Tennessee. This land was comprised of fertile plain. Thus, this rich land was attractive to both the farmers and the stockman. Such a vast land was sparsely populated.

Plano Mutual Cemetery had its beginnings in the Forman Family Cemetery. The first person buried here in what is now an unmarked grave was a Dr. Lillie who died in 1852. Dr. Lillie, the nephew of William Forman, Sr., died within a few days of his arrival. Upon his death the owners of four sections of land that cornered together decided to locate a graveyard where each of the four could contribute an equal portion of land for the cemetery. For reasons unknown most of the earlier graves were all dug on Forman land. The second oldest grave is that of Eleanor C. Hawkins, age 16, said to have come from Kentucky to teach school. Lionel Simpson, Benjamin Mathews and his wife Mary Ann, who were Peters Colonists from Kentucky, are also buried in Plano Mutual Cemetery.

The additional portions of the cemetery resulted as a combination of several organizations, which purchased land for cemetery use by and for their members. Each organization handled its respective part as to who could be interred, how this right to interment was acquired, and provided for maintenance.

As early as 1891 the ladies of the Plano community gathered together to keep the cemetery in good condition. A wooden pavilion is remembered to have straddled the center road and was large enough to let cars pass beneath. Metal benches were on either side with a pump nearby. The ladies received contributions, sold burial spaces and prepared meals for sale to the men who came each month to trade horses and mules in downtown Plano.

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An inset photo medallion of the aforementioned Ben Mathews has a caption that reads, "Ben Mathews was born in Kentucky and married Mary Ann Yager in 1846 before moving to Texas in 1848. He built his home on Spring Creek, farmed 640 acres of land and built houses for others including the Joe Forman home."

Another inset photo is of Letitia Barnett and her daughters, with a caption that reads, "Mrs. George (Letitia) Barnett and her four daughters were among the early workers serving as caretakers for the cemetery grounds and helped to organize the Mutual Cemetery Association in the 1890s."

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The sidebar on the left of the sign provides a timeline of significant events, and below it is a map of the cemetery's layout.

Evolution of the Cemetery

Original owners of the "four corners" who gave up pieces of land for the cemetery: Forman, Bowman, Rice, and unknown.

Forman - First Burial – 1852 - Dr. Lillie

Oldest Marked Grave - 1853 – Miss Eleanor Hawkins

Masonic Lodge No. 235 Bought 2.25 acres from DeWitt Forman July 20, 1873 [inset photo of Masonic compass and square on a headstone]

International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) bought 2.25 acres from DeWitt Forman July 30, 1873

Woodman [sic] of the World Camp #743 1907 WOW bought 2 acres for $150.00 from the Bowman family [inset photo of a Woodmen of the World emblem on a headstone]

Knights of Pythias Lodge 39 1907 bought 2.79 ac. for $209.20 from Bowman family. In 1918 sold it to Forman family who in 1928 sold it to the Plano Mutual Cemetery Assoc.

1891
Mutual Cemetery Association formed by Ladies of the Cemetery who had maintained grounds

1893
Ladies of the Cemetery
Early cemetery workers were Mrs. Lizzie Smoot, Mrs. Letitia Barnett, and Mrs. Mary Mathews

1928
Chartering of the Plano Mutual Cemetery Association

January 8, 1929
Plano Mutual Cemetery Association incorporated with State of Texas

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The sidebar on the right provides some background for the Forman family, with a photo medallion for Ruth Forman, and below are not-to-scale photos of William and Ruth Forman's headstones, which you'll find together in the northeast section of the cemetery. It reads:

In 1850 William Forman, his with Ruth Chenoweth Forman and their five children moved from Kentucky to Texas. William Sr. had carefully planned this venture over some period of time. As a young man in Kentucky he was in charge of his father's distillery and mills, giving his family skills with which to contribute to a new and raw community. William Sr. sold his considerable land holdings in Kentucky, collecting cash for Texas land purchases. Purchasing land from settlers who held original head rights, by 1853 William Forman and sons owned one single parcel of land consisting of nearly 1400 acres.

The family soon built a seven room clapboard house on their new land, near the original location of the town of Plano. The finished lumber had to be hauled from Jefferson by ox cart. William and his sons built both a grist mill and a saw mill that efficiently ran by steam and they added a distillery.

As the community continued to grow, William Forman, Sr. applied to the government for his house to become an official post office with himself as the postmaster. The name Plano was chosen for the town's name. William Sr. died in 1856 and is buried on the part of his original land within the Plano Mutual Cemetery.

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Finally, a note at the bottom of the sign provides some history of the old tree you can still visit in the northeast section of the cemetery, but be aware that they say "bow dark" when pronouncing the name:

Bois d'Arc Tree

Along the eastern fence line of the Forman section an ancient Bois d'Arc tree stands sentinel over the Plano Mutual Cemetery. Arborists believe the tree is over 100 years old.

Group that erected the marker: Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Plano Mutual Cemetery 18th St & Jupiter Rd Plano, TX USA 75074

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