Poston-Odle Cemetery
Valley Mills, Bosque County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of the earliest settlements in this area was established in the 1850s along Hog Creek. A rock building used for a school and church was erected, and the area became known as Rock Church on Hog Creek. The family of John Odle settled here following the Civil War. Land for this cemetery was set aside by Odle following the death of his sister, Mary Odle Poston, in 1875. Those buried here include members of the Odle, Poston, Cutbirth, Pool, Cureton, Adams, Hord, Callan, Hoffman, and Le Fever families. The cemetery gates were built from the stones of the Old Rock Church. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
One of the earliest settlements in this part of Bosque County grew up along Hog Creek in the 1850s around a rock building used as a school and church, giving the area the name Rock Church on Hog Creek. After the Civil War, John Odle's family settled here, and Odle set aside this cemetery ground following the 1875 death of his sister, Mary Odle Poston. Pioneer families rest here, and the cemetery gates were built from the stones of the old rock church.
Why it matters
The cemetery and its salvaged church stones preserve the memory of a vanished pioneer settlement, showing how a community's first sacred building could live on in the ground where its founders are buried.
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Related people
- ยท John Odle
- ยท Mary Odle Poston
Themes & tags
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