Little Flock Cemetery
San Augustine vicinity, San Augustine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
By 1880, a small farming community had been established in this part of rural San Augustine County. Members of the Erwin, Crocker, Zeagler (Zeigler), Woods and Harvey families met first near Tiger Creek under a brush arbor to help organize a community church. About 1882, a one-room log church building was constructed on this site. Its small size led the congregation to name itself "Little Flock." In 1883, the family of six-year-old Carrie Bell Hawkins stopped for help at the home of Joseph N. and Lizzie Harvey Erwin. Carrie died while at the Erwin home, and the Erwins buried her on their property near the Little Flock church. In 1887, three Erwin family members were buried near the first grave site, and by 1900 there were 29 marked graves. In 1914, Joseph (1845-1931) and Lizzie (1854-1948) Erwin formally donated one acre of land for church, school and cemetery purposes. Additional acreage was purchased at that time and again in 1931. At the turn of the 21st century, there were more than 400 burials in the Little Flock Cemetery, including those of veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War Ii, Korea and Vietnam. At least five graves are unmarked. Charter members of the Little Flock Baptist Church, including George Washington Crocker (1840-1922), are buried here as are land donors Joseph and Lizzie Erwin. Little Flock Cemetery stands as a reminder of the pioneers who settled this part of Texas and of their contributions to local history. (2001)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
By 1880 families named Erwin, Crocker, Zeagler, Woods, and Harvey were farming this part of San Augustine County, worshipping first under a brush arbor before raising a one-room log church they called "Little Flock." The cemetery began in 1883 with the burial of six-year-old Carrie Bell Hawkins, who died while visiting the Erwin home, and the Erwins formally donated land for church, school, and cemetery in 1914. More than 400 graves now rest here, including charter church members and veterans from the Civil War through Vietnam.
Why it matters
Little Flock traces how a scattering of frontier farm families organized themselves into a lasting community through a shared church, school, and burial ground — the institutions that made rural East Texas cohere.
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Related people
- · Carrie Bell Hawkins
- · Joseph N. Erwin
- · Lizzie Harvey Erwin
- · George Washington Crocker
Themes & tags
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