FIRST Grave in Meredith Campground Cemetery - Henderson County, TX
N 32° 20.656 W 095° 52.279
15S E 229758 N 3582219
A 1991 Texas Historical Marker in front of the tabernacle at the Meredith Campground Cemetery indicates that the first grave in the cemetery belongs to early pioneer, W.W. Barber, who was buried here in 1876.
Waymark Code: WMZV3M
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/06/2019
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 historical marker gives "August" as the month of death, probably a misreading of the stone, and it reads:
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.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 04/16/1876
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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