New Providence Cemetery
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This cemetery was associated with the New Providence Missionary Baptist Church, which was founded in the 1880s. The first documented burial was of W. E. Newton in 1896. In 1903 the church was damaged by a windstorm, struck by lightning and later burned to the ground. Without a church building, the congregation disbanded. It was briefly reorganized in 1921 to maintain the cemetery, but broke up again in 1925. Five of the 58 graves are unmarked. Among those buried here are veterans of five wars, a former county judge and a former district judge.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Gregg County cemetery grew up around the New Providence Missionary Baptist Church, founded in the 1880s, with its first recorded burial in 1896. Fire, windstorm, and lightning destroyed the church, and the congregation disbanded—reorganizing only briefly to tend the graves. Among the fifty-eight burials rest veterans of five American wars, a former county judge, and a former district judge.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of an East Texas community that vanished with its church, holding the graves of citizens and soldiers who served across generations of American history.
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Related people
- · W. E. Newton
Themes & tags
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