The Junior Historian, Volume 10, Number 4, January 1950 Page: 2
32 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
OAK GROVE CEMETERY
by BETTY RULFS
Nacogdoches High SchoolA SHORT distance from the heart
of Nacogdoches, Texas, on La
Nana Street, lies the Oak Grove
Cemetery. Little is known of its origin,
and selection; some early settler started
the cemetery for white persons and their
slaves at the edge of the Tejas Indian
burying grounds. However, the person
who chose Oak Grove Cemetery must
have had an appreciation of natural
beauty, especially of trees, from which
the cemetery derives its name.
Originally the cemetery was not
named; it was simply called "ceme-
tery." About 900goo a group of Nacog-
doches ladies, realizing the need of a
new name for the cemetery, formed the
Nacogdoches Cemetery Association and
asked citizens of the town to suggest
a more appropriate name. The father of
the poet, Mrs. Karl Wilson Baker, was
very much interested and suggested
"Bonita" as fitting, since it was a Span-
ish name and there were so many things
of Spanish interest in Nacogdoches.
After much discussion, a name was se-
lected for the cemetery-Oak Grove.
Few of the ladies of the Association
are living at present. The graves of the
deceased members which are found in
Oak Grove are those of Mrs. Charlie
Hoya, Miss Mary Hoya, Mrs. W. D.
Peavy, Miss Fannie Wilson, Mrs. Ro-
land Jones, Mrs. John Schmidt, Mrs.
A. V. Muller, and Mrs. L. C. Cox. Liv-
ing members of the Association are:
Mrs. Ida Cottingham, Mrs. J. O. Ray,
Mrs. Mena Gilbert, Miss Amelia Press-
ler, and Mrs. O. E. Hubbard, most of
whom reside in Nacogdoches.
Mrs. Ida Cottingham was secretary
for the Association; Miss Fannie Nel-
son, treasurer; Mrs. W. D. Peavy, pres-
ident; the dues were ten cents a month
at first, but were later raised to fifteen
cents, then twenty-five cents. This was
in the horse and buggy days, and eachmonth Miss Hoya and Miss Fannie
Nelson, with Miss Nelson's young
nephew, Luther Nelson, would go in
the family buggy to collect the dues.
Luther, being young and much like
other boys in his zeal to handle "large
finances," would do the collecting, call-
ing on the merchants and civic-minded
citizens who were members. As the
cemetery grew and the work became
such a large task, a sexton was hired to
relieve them of most of the work.
The cemetery has been enlarged
twice. The city now owns the Protestant
part, but the part used by the Catholics
is still controlled by the Catholic
Church. The old part of the cemetery
lies nearest the entrance gate; the
graves of the Protestants and the col-
ored slaves are on the right and the
graves of the Catholics on the left.
Some of the early Spanish settlers are
also buried there. Most of the prominent
Spanish people were buried in the Old
Spanish Cemetery where the courthouse
now stands. It was used from I8oo to
1825 as the burial place of many of the
earliest settlers of Nacogdoches, among
whom was Antonio Gil Yarbo, founder
of modern Nacogdoches.
The age of the cemetery is unknown;
some think it was originally a Catholic
cemetery. Holy Springs is just out-
side the cemetery and the Catholics
used the springs. An old Spanish legend
relates that in the first year after the
mission Guadalupe was built, there was
a great drought and water became very
scarce. Father Margil went out in faith
and smote the rock on the bank of La
Nana Creek, which had completely dried
up, and two unfailing springs gushed
forth. They were called "Los Ojos de
Padre Margil" meaning the springs of
Father Margil, and located in what
was formerly known as Miss Park but
is now a pasture in the J. R. Gray es-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 10, Number 4, January 1950, periodical, January 1950; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391506/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.