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Carroll Springs Cemetery

Athens, Henderson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

The Carroll Springs Methodist Church and a school began meeting at this site in 1883. The following year, A.M. Carroll, who owned property in Henderson and Anderson counties, set aside nearly five acres here to be used for a school, church and cemetery. The community, which derived its name from the Carroll family and nearby springs, began using this site for burials as early as 1859. The earliest marked grave is that of John Buck Hogg, who died in March 1859, although several others are believed to date to that same year. Generations of area pioneer families are buried in the cemetery, which is also the final resting place of veterans of American conflicts dating to the Civil War. Other area residents buried in Carroll Springs Cemetery include ministers and schoolteachers. Although the Carroll Springs School consolidated with the Athens district in 1947, the Methodist Church continues to serve the area. Today, the cemetery is maintained as a perpetual care burial ground, and members and friends of the community gather annually to remember those who have passed on. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

The Carroll Springs community, named for the Carroll family and nearby springs, began burying its dead here as early as 1859, with the earliest marked grave that of John Buck Hogg. In 1884 A.M. Carroll set aside nearly five acres for a school, church, and cemetery, and generations of pioneer families, ministers, teachers, and veterans of American wars from the Civil War onward were laid to rest here. The school later consolidated into Athens, but the Methodist church endures and the community still gathers each year to remember.

Why it matters

Carroll Springs is a window into how frontier Texas communities organized themselves around the linked institutions of church, school, and cemetery that held rural life together.

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Related people

  • Β· A.M. Carroll
  • Β· John Buck Hogg

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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