Cypress Church and Cemetery
Mt. Vernon, Franklin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On August 28, 1851, the Associated Cypress Baptist Church was founded. The congregation constructed a meetinghouse on this property which belonged to Spencer Shearer. In 1862 he deeded the six-acre site to the congregation. the site also served as a burial ground. The bell tower was used to call neighbors to help with grave digging. One of the earliest marked headstones is that of Jane Willis Huggins (1837-1854), daughter of Jonathan and Mary Huggins. According to local tradition, Confederate troops trained on the church grounds during the civil war, 1861-1865. The fellowship joined the Red River Baptist Association and was a charter member of Rehoboth Association of the Southern baptist Convention. the present sanctuary replaced the original in 1953. The next year another acre was donated to be used as needed for interments. although plots are not sold, perpetual care is financed by donations at the memorial services each year in June. The Cypress Cemetery Foundation was organized in 1968. Members of the church helped found the Mt. Zion Church which later began the First Baptist Church in Winnsboro. Descendants of many of the early founders are active in the congregation. (1979)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1851, the Associated Cypress Baptist Church built its meetinghouse on land later deeded to the congregation by Spencer Shearer, whose gift also created a burial ground called to service by the tolling of the bell tower. Local tradition holds that Confederate troops drilled on the church grounds during the Civil War. The congregation helped seed other area churches, and descendants of its founders remain active today.
Why it matters
Rural churchyards like Cypress preserve the layered memory of a community — its faith, its founding families, and even the passage of soldiers through the countryside during the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Spencer Shearer
- · Jane Willis Huggins
Themes & tags
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