Gibtown Cemetery
Perrin, Jack County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This area was originally called New Hope City but was later renamed Gibtown in honor of Burdett Levi Gibbins, a local merchant. According to oral tradition, the first cemetery burial was that of a stranger. The first marked grave belongs to Mary C. Stults who died in 1876 at the age of 30, leaving behind a husband and six young daughters. The Methodist Church acquired the property in 1881. Burials include pioneer families, veterans, ministers, county officials, doctors and other influential community members. Tombstone detailing reflects fraternal associations including the woodmen of the world and masons. This historic cemetery reflects the history of this once thriving community.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settled as New Hope City and later renamed Gibtown for merchant Burdett Levi Gibbins, this North Texas farming community grew up in the decades after the Civil War. Its cemetery, whose first marked grave belongs to Mary C. Stults (d. 1876), gathered the pioneer families, ministers, doctors, and county officials who built the town. Tombstones bearing Woodmen of the World and Masonic emblems record the fraternal life that bound the settlement together.
Why it matters
Rural cemeteries like Gibtown are the last surviving record of once-thriving frontier communities that faded from the map, preserving the names and social ties of the ordinary Texans who settled the land.
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Related people
- · Burdett Levi Gibbins
- · Mary C. Stults
Themes & tags
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