HISTORICAL CEMETERIES
The marking and identifying of grave sites of yesteryear was done with materials that were available, durable, and the least cost, yet effective in preserving the location of their loved ones.
Large rocks of a durable material were placed at the head and foot of some graves. These rocks were visible when the grasses grew tall. Wooden crosses and wooden boards with the name of the deceased carved into them were also used.
To preserve some family plot areas, concrete walls about a foot high were installed around the perimeter of each lot. Others were enclosed with fences.
"Rich" Bell Plot
Just off of Hwy. 19, 4 ¾ miles south of Trinity. Family plot containing one grave.
Blackshear Cemetery
5 ½ miles north of Glendale, in a pasture off to the left side of the road. There are no tombstones for the 6-8 people buried there. A relative remembers attending, as a child, the burial of John Blackshear.
Carlisle Cemetery
From Trinity, take FM 356 south to the Carlisle Baptist Church, 6 ½ miles southeast of Sebastopol.The community of Carlisle was named for John Carlisle, who established sawmills in the Carlisle & Carmona areas.
Chita Cemetery (Historical Marker)
This rural community is among the oldest in Trinity County. As families have researched their ancestry, the number of Civil War veterans has increased from two in the 1992 edition of Trinity County Cemeteries to six. There are a number of World War I and World War II Veterans buried here.
Craddock Cemetery
Located on a peninsula in Lake Livingston. Take FM 356 south for about 7 miles. Start looking for a peninsula on the right after crossing White Rock Creek. All stones and markers date to the 1870s.
Nora Dorn Family Cemetery (Black)
From the intersection of Main & Robb, travel west on Main 1.1 miles to Lakefield Street. Turn south and continue 3/10ths of a mile.Adjoins the Trinity Community Cemetery (Black) at its southeastern property line.French Memorial Cemetery aka French Cemetery
South 3.4 miles on Hwy. 19 to FM 3454 (Pinehurst Rd.). Turn left & go 1.4 miles to the junction with Old Riverside Road, turn left, go 0.4 miles. A side road enters from the left, barred by a locked gate.
Uncovered records show the J.T. French bought the property in 1890 and set aside 4.4 acres for a church, school, and cemetery. More than 50 graves are marked by stones, including a baby?s grave marked by a china goblet.
Glendale Cemetery (Historical marker)
Glendale, Texas was founded in the 1800s by an orchard company and settled by northern colonists as a religious and educational center. Several colonists from Illinois are laid to rest here. The oldest grave in the cemetery is that of Ida j. Arnold, who died in 1884 as a child. The second oldest grave is that of Albert C. Munson, who was also laid to rest in 1884.
Hickman Cemetery
To reach Hickman Cemetery from Trinity, take FM 356 to Sebastopol, turn left on FM 355, go to Chita Cemetery on the old Chita to Carlisle road. Continue 1.1 miles to cemetery on the left. There are approximately 28 stones and 10 unidentified graves. The earliest dated marker reads 1875 while the oldest is dated 1945.
Old Hickman Place
Two-tenths of a mile from the Hickman Cemetery around a curve to the right in the woods are two graves. The inscription on one of the markers is "This simple tablet marks a father?s bier, and those he loved in life, in death are near".
Hill Cemetery aka Lane Prairie/ Hill Cemetery
Take Hwy. 94 to the Glendale Cemetery sign, turn north. At the fork in the road, turn right and go 4 8/10 miles to a pasture gate on the right side of the road. This cemetery is on private land, on acreage dedicated to wild life, therefore the grave markers are scattered among a dense growth of vines, trees and crepe myrtles on the right of an enormous sweet gum tree at the crest of a hill. The earliest marked grave dates back to 1889, the last grave is dated 1970.
Inman-Mason Cemetery
Was on the Mason Place, reached by going toward Groveton on Hwy. 94 to Saron Cemetery sign and turning right, continuing past Buck Hill to the Mason hill between Sandy and Dad?s Creeks. The Inman place was northwest of the Mason place. Brother Mason was a Methodist preacher. His place was on a red clay hill and a mammoth white oak tree shaded his home. No evidence of this cemetery was found in 1977.
Millican/Milligan Chapel Cemetery
From Trinity to Bell Creek, cross the creek to reach the cemetery on the right side of the road. This cemetery is made up of a number of adjoining fenced-in family plots. The earliest recorded headstone is dated 1876while the latest is dates 1995.
New Zion Cemetery
Take Hwy. 19 north to the cemetery sign on the left side of the road turn left and proceed for about one quarter of a mile. The cemetery is on the right. Every grave had been mounded and shaped. Eighty-six graves have stone or concrete block markers. Some had illegible funeral home markers. The first readable stone is date 1882. The last readable stone is dated 2001.
Isreal Otis Family Burial Plot (Black)
Travel west on Main street 1.1 miles to Lakefield Street. Turn left and continue .3 mile to Fairdale Street. Turn east and continue less then .1 mile South Roach street. Turn south and less than one-half block to the residence of Isreal Otis. Drive through his yard to the cemetery in the rear. Just one person has been buried here with a burial date of 1981.
Patterson Plot
Five miles south of Trinity on Hwy. 19 on the right side of the road is the entrance to private property. For many years the Patterson Plot was known as the Clegg Farm. The Patterson family cemetery was located in a grove of cedar trees in front of and northeast of the dwelling on the property. The two stones found here have the dates of 1882 and 1883. Since being copied, the stones have been lost.
Saron Cemetery
From Trinity take Hwy. 94 to Saron cemetery sign, turn right. At the road fork, bear left on an unpaved road one-half mile to the cemetery on the right. This cemetery is on a low hill. At least thirty-six unidentified graves. The first recorded grave is dated 1887, while the last is dated 2000.
Skains Chapel Cemetery
To reach this cemetery from Trinity take Hwy. 94 East, cross White Rock Creek, at FM 3188 turn right. Go about two miles to a paved road on property to the right. The cemetery is to the left of this driveway. The earliest of the graves is dates 1901. The last grave is dated 1999. There are also 22 unknown graves.
William Henry Skains Family Cemetery
This cemetery was located near Glen Haven Estates near Trinity. Only crepe myrtle trees indicate where the cemetery was. It fell victim to road building crews during the Civilian Conservation Corps era in Trinity County. Originally there were six graves in a row.
John Smith Cemetery (Black)
To reach this private cemetery, start at the signal light at Main and Robb Streets, travel west on Main Street .6 mile to Lone Star Baptist Church (Black), turn north into the church driveway and continue less than .1 mile to the cemetery, which is bounded on the east by Trinity Cedar Grove Cemetery and on the south by Lone Star?s north boundary line. The cemetery is behind the church. All of the graves are dated in the 20th century.
Taylor Cemetery (Historical marker)
Take FM 356 east for 5 miles; turn right on the dirt road through a wooded drive for three-quarters of a mile. The cemetery is on the right side of the road. J.E. Taylor set aside the property for a community burying ground. The first recorded burial was in 1873.
Rev. Harry Thomas Family Burial Plot (Black)
Start at the signal light at Main and Robb Streets, travel west on Main Street 1.1 miles to Lakefield Street. Turn south and continue to Fairdale Street. Turn right and travel west less than one-tenth of a mile to the Harry Thomas residence. Continue down the fencerow to the burial plot, which adjoins the new addition of the Trinity Community Cemetery along its west boundary line.
Thornton Family Plot
Going from Sebastopol to Groveton on FM 355, it is on the first road to the left after passing the Chita Cemetery Road. Only the graves of Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Thornton are here.
Trinity Cedar Grove Cemetery (Historical Marker)
Located west of the business section on Main Street on the right side of the road. The original 5 acre cemetery has been enlarged to eighteen acres. At least 24 graves sites are unmarked.
Trinity Community Cemetery (Black)
From the Post Office in Trinity, go west on Main Street for six-tenths of a mile, turning left on South Lakefield Street for three-tenths of a mile. The cemetery is located on both sides of the street. There are about 210 unmarked graves.
White Rock Cemetery (Black)
From Trinity, on the Trin-Lady Park road, White Rock Cemetery, Red Branch Community, is about 1.8 miles past the park, across the road from the White Rock Church, on private property. There are about 35 unidentified graves.
Wilkey Tombstone
On a farm east of the old Riverside to Trinity road about 2 miles south of Trinity, a triple tombstone was found. Wife (1894), son (1889) and daughter (1893) of W.N. Wilkey.
Chriss Williams Burial Site (Black)
This site is in the yard of a private residence in Trinity. Starting at Main and Robb Streets, travel 1.1 miles west on Main Street to Lakefield, turn south, and travel three-tenths of a mile to the family burial plot on the west side of Lakefield. A cyclone fence separates the burial plot from a private residence to the south. Stones at the site date in the 20th century.
