Center Grove Cemetery
Cookville, Titus County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This cemetery was originally called the Yancey Cemetery because the first parcel of land was donated by David Yancey, Sr., in the mid-1860s. An orphaned infant, who was a member of the group that traveled with Yancey from Tennessee to Texas, was the first to be buried here. Many of the graves, including the first, are marked with only a rough stone. Veterans of the Civil War and both World Wars have been buried here. The name of the cemetery was changed in 1900 because the graveyard was located in the same area as the Center Grove Church of Christ. (1984)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
First known as the Yancey Cemetery, this burial ground began in the mid-1860s on land donated by David Yancey, Sr., whose party had traveled from Tennessee to Texas—an orphaned infant from that group being the first laid to rest here. Many of the earliest graves are marked only with rough fieldstones. Renamed Center Grove in 1900 for the nearby Church of Christ, it holds veterans of the Civil War and both World Wars.
Why it matters
A humble pioneer cemetery, it links one migrating frontier family to generations of Texans who answered the call in the nation's wars.
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Related people
- · David Yancey, Sr.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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