Oklahoma Cemetery
Conroe, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Oral tradition says that when a Mr. Sanders told a Mr. Leslie he was moving to Oklahoma, bu he moved near here instead, the settlement was named "Oklahoma." George W. Snook (1849-1939) and Bonnie Jerome Goodson Snook (1863-1939) were the first to set aside an acre here for a burial ground when their young daughter, Jessie Snook (1890-1894), became ill and died. A tree uprooted by a storm was the last place she had visited so they buried her nearby. The girl's uncle, John Henry Goodson (1867-1958), also donated an acre to this site in 1903. It doubled in size since then, remaining a chronicle of the families of this area of Montgomery County. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Local tradition holds that the settlement earned the name 'Oklahoma' when a man who announced he was moving to Oklahoma instead settled near here. George W. Snook and his wife Bonnie set aside the first acre for a burial ground after their young daughter Jessie died in 1894, choosing a spot near a storm-uprooted tree she had last visited. Her uncle John Henry Goodson donated another acre in 1903, and the cemetery has since doubled in size while chronicling the families of this corner of Montgomery County.
Why it matters
Its folk name and family graves capture the intimate, oral-tradition history of a rural Texas farming community.
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Related people
- · George W. Snook
- · John Henry Goodson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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