Bennett Cemetery
Groveton, Trinity County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Georgia native Mycajah Y. Bennett arrived in Texas with his family by 1850, when he is listed in the census for Rusk County. According to family tradition, he and others were clearing trees from this hill when he remarked that upon his death he would like to be buried here, under a particular large tree. When he died in 1856, they honored his request. As other family members and friends died, they were buried near him in what came to be known as Pleasant Hill Cemetery. His is the first known burial, although local history dates the cemetery to 1843, prior to Bennett's ownership of the property. The burial ground was later renamed Bennett Cemetery, and Mycajah's son, Richmond Oliver Bennett, reportedly donated the land for use as a burial ground for the agricultural community of Crecy. Records indicate a Baptist church was at one time located adjacent to the burial ground. A cemetery association formed in 1902 and continues to maintain the cemetery, which has more than 1,500 graves, including those of military veterans and pioneer area settlers. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Georgia native Micajah Y. Bennett reached Texas by 1850, and family tradition holds that while clearing this hilltop he chose a spot beneath a great tree for his own grave. When he died in 1856, kin honored the wish, and the site grew into a burying ground first called Pleasant Hill, though local history traces burials here to 1843. Renamed for the Bennetts after his son donated the land to the farming community of Crecy, the cemetery now holds more than 1,500 graves, including pioneer settlers and military veterans.
Why it matters
A single settler's dying wish became the seed of a cemetery that outlasted the farming community around it, preserving the memory of Texas's pioneer families.
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Related people
- · Micajah Y. Bennett
- · Richmond Oliver Bennett
Themes & tags
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