OLDEST Known Grave in Bold Springs Cemetery - West, TX
N 31° 46.796 W 097° 07.983
14R E 676776 N 3517559
A 2011 Texas Historical Marker at Bold Springs Cemetery notes that the oldest known grave in the cemetery belongs to Mary W. Baze, who was buried here in 1861.
Waymark Code: WM140Z6
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/25/2021
Views: 0
Mrs. Baze's headstone has an open book at the top, either a Bible or the Book of Life, and it looks like the Gates of Heaven peeking out from behind the lichen and dirt. The inscription reads:
Mary W.
Wife of
N.F. Baze
Born
July 28, 1828
Died
Jan. 19, 1861
---
Mother of
John Mahoney
Beneath this stone I've placed
in trust
Not the immortal, but the dust,
Of one on earth to me most dear
Who learned in youth her
God to fear.
-----
The historical marker provides some background:
Isaac Butler "Doc" Cauble (1820-1904) built a cabin in 1850 near one of several flowing springs that was home to generations of Native Americans. Cauble’s young son, James, was a friend to a Comanche boy who died and was buried on the hill now holding this cemetery. Other early settlers included the families of Carey Boulds, Jacob Closner, Walter Bennett, William Hurlock, and Thomas West. The spring and surrounding community was known as "Bould Springs" or "Bennett Springs." The Bould Springs post office opened in Boulds' cabin, which served as a community gathering place and a place for stagecoaches to stop and change horses. County commissioners established roads through Bold Springs linking Waco to Hillsboro, from here to a lumber mill on Aquilla Creek and also to a family grain mill on the Brazos River. Bold Springs Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1858, was the first church in northeastern McLennan County. The population numbered 311 in the 1860 census, making Bold Springs the second largest town in the county. In 1881, settlement shifted to the new town of West, established on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad.
The oldest known grave marks Mary W. Baze (Jul. 28, 1828 – Jun. 19, 1861). The general landscape is traditional, with graves oriented east-west and the oldest graves in the center sections. Here are pioneers of Bold Springs, members of fraternal organizations, and early business and civic leaders of West. Veterans of conflicts from the Civil War to present are among the more than 2,400 interred. Grave markers are of granite, marble, metal, limestone and sandstone. Vegetation includes oak trees, crepe myrtles, irises and bluebonnets. The Bold Springs Cemetery Association formed in 1892 and continues to care for this historic reminder of the once thriving Bold Springs community.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/19/1861
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|