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Mount Zion Cemetery

Apple Springs, Trinity County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Mount Zion Cemetery, in the J.J. Warren Survey, originally served early dispersed communities, including Crib Creek, Alabama Creek, Trevat, Helmic, Crecy, Centralia, North Cedar and Apple Springs. The earliest marked stone, that of Sarah A. Womack, dates to 1856, and there are others dating to the 1870s. Many veterans are buried here, including those who served in the U.S.-Mexico War and Civil War. The older section of the cemetery features a concentration of vertical stones. Mount Zion Church began in the early 19th century, and J.A. and Lucinda Trevathan deeded the land for the cemetery to the church in 1894. The Baptist church maintained the burial ground until it disbanded. The Mount Zion Cemetery Association took over the property in 1973, and it now provides financial support and maintenance and oversees an annual homecoming. Today, the burial ground remains as a reminder of residents of rural Trinity County communities who settled this area and led in its development over the years. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2004

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Mount Zion Cemetery once served a scattering of vanished rural communities—Crib Creek, Trevat, Helmic, Centralia, and others—in the piney woods of Trinity County. Its earliest marked stone, that of Sarah A. Womack, dates to 1856, and among its graves are veterans of the U.S.–Mexico War and the Civil War. Tied to a Baptist church whose members deeded the land in 1894, the cemetery has been maintained by a community association since 1973.

Why it matters

The burial ground is a living index of the small, now-forgotten settlements that first peopled rural East Texas, and of the men who marched from them to the era's wars.

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Related people

  • · Sarah A. Womack

Themes & tags

Mexican-American WarCivil WarFrontier HistoryLandmark

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