Byerlys Camp Ground Cemetery
Jasper, Jasper County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Adam Byerly migrated to Texas from South Carolina in 1833 with his father and two younger brothers. He received a Mexican land grant of one-quarter league in 1835. Shortly afterward, he invited the Rev. Henry Stephenson, early Methodist missionary, to preach under a brush arbor on his property and initiated the first of many camp meetings at this site. Pioneer families traveled by wagon and camped here for a week or longer to worship and socialize. At one meeting about 1837, the Rev. Stephenson's daughter Edith (1814-1858) married Adam Byerly's brother William (1805-1884). In 1843 Adam and his wife Nancy deeded 10 acres, including the camp ground site, to the Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1850 the Methodists erected a frame church building and opened this cemetery for community use. Earliest known grave is that of Edith Stephenson Byerly. Several faiths shared use of the church building, from 1898 to 1937, the structure also housed the community school. Camp meetings ended in the 1930s. The Methodist congregation erected a new church in 1948 on land donated by William Byerly's grandson Adam, and the old building was razed. A cemetery association, formed in 1970, maintains the burial ground.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Adam Byerly came to Texas from South Carolina in 1833 and took up a Mexican land grant in the Jasper County pinewoods. He soon invited Methodist missionary Henry Stephenson to preach under a brush arbor, launching frontier camp meetings where scattered pioneer families wagoned in and camped for a week to worship and socialize. In 1843 the Byerlys deeded ten acres to the Methodist church; a frame meetinghouse rose about 1850, the burying ground opened, and the site served as church, school, and community anchor for nearly a century.
Why it matters
Camp-meeting grounds like this were the social and spiritual glue of the Southern frontier, where isolated settler families found religion, courtship, schooling, and community all in one clearing.
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Related people
- · Adam Byerly
- · Henry Stephenson
- · William Byerly
- · Edith Stephenson Byerly
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Adam Byerly came to Texas from South Carolina in 1834 and received a Mexican land grant on Sandy Creek, where the site became a Methodist camp meeting ground known as Byerly Campground. Byerly sold ten acres to the church in 1843, and a cemetery for the area's African American residents took shape to the south. Its earliest marked grave is that of Tom Limbrick (1827–1908), and many former slaves, community leaders, and veterans rest here. Ties with nearby Armstrong C.M.E. Church give the site its alternate name, Armstrong Campground Cemetery.
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