Frontier Red Hill Cemetery
Edom, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first grave here was that of 19-year-old Elizabeth Carolina Piles, who died May 4, 1856. Buried nearby are her sister Melissa, who died two days later, and her father John Piles (1802-57), on whose land the cemetery was located. Included among the 188 graves here are those of six Confederate veterans-- Samuel W. Murphy, David Tumlinson, Robert S. Boykin, Thomas Piles, F. M. Shirey, and Robert Beam. Four acres of land were first set aside for the cemetery in 1886, and four more acres were donated in 1963. The Frontier Red Hill Cemetery Association now maintains the site. (1975)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The first burial here was nineteen-year-old Elizabeth Carolina Piles in May 1856, followed within days by her sister, on land owned by their father. Among the roughly 188 graves lie six Confederate veterans of the Civil War. Four acres were set aside for the cemetery in 1886 and doubled by a later gift, and an association tends the grounds today.
Why it matters
A frontier burying ground turned community cemetery, Red Hill preserves the pioneer and Civil War generations of Van Zandt County side by side.
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Themes & tags
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