Joplin Fairview Cemetery
Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas
Marker Inscription
THE CEMETERY AT THIS SITE IS NAMED FOR THE NEARBY COMMUNITY OF JOPLIN, AND FOR THAT COMMUNITY’S SCHOOL, WHICH WAS KNOWN AS FAIRVIEW. FAIRVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH WAS ALSO LOCATED NEAR THIS SITE. THE EARLIEST MARKED BURIAL IS THE 1881 GRAVE OF JESSIE T. GILLIS. JOHNNY JOPLIN, FOR THE WHOM THE COMMUNITY OF JOPLIN WAS NAMED, WAS BURIED AT THE SITE IN 1899. WHEN THE JOPLIN SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSOLIDATED WITH THE JACKSBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT IN 1947, FUNDS FROM THE SALE OF THE SCHOOL BUIDING WERE GIVEN TO THE NEWLY FORMED JOPLIN CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, WHICH RETAINS STEWARDSHIP OF THE BURIAL GROUND. TODAY, JOPLIN FAIRVIEW CEMETERY SERVES AS A REMINDER OF AN EARLY JACK COUNTY COMMUNITY.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This cemetery carries the memory of Joplin, a small Jack County farming community named for settler Johnny Joplin, and of its school, Fairview. The earliest marked grave dates to 1881, and Joplin himself was buried here in 1899. When the local school district consolidated with Jacksboro in 1947, proceeds from selling the school building endowed the cemetery association that still cares for the grounds.
Why it matters
It preserves the story of a rural Texas community whose school, church, and cemetery once formed the center of neighborhood life before consolidation erased the town from the map.
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Related people
- · Johnny Joplin
- · Jessie T. Gillis
Themes & tags
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