Preskitt Cemetery
Decatur, Wise County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The land around this site was deeded to the trustees of the Lee School Community, one of whom was M. W. Preskitt, in April 1885. In August of the following year, the Lee School trustees deeded half that parcel to County Judge W. W. Brady for a burial ground. The earliest marked grave in the cemetery is that of infant Pearl Hobbs, who was born and died in June 1890. The families buried in the cemetery are among the first farm owners and families living in the community in the 1870s and 1880s. Early school trustee James W. Haynes, a Union Army veteran, is interred here, as are many other military veterans. The cemetery was once associated with a Baptist Church, which was torn down about 1930. At the dawn of the 21st century there were 172 known graves, 27 unmarked, on the property. (2000) Text of supplemental plate: Pioneer families represented in the Preskitt Cemetery include Bramlett, Burns, Haynes, Hilton, Little, Pound, Reeves, Taylor and Ware.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The land here was first deeded to the trustees of the Lee School community in 1885, and the following year half of it was set aside for a burial ground, with the earliest marked grave belonging to infant Pearl Hobbs in 1890. Those laid to rest include the first farm families of the 1870s and 1880s and a number of military veterans, among them Union Army veteran and early school trustee James W. Haynes. Once tied to a Baptist church that was torn down around 1930, the cemetery held some 172 known graves by the turn of the 21st century.
Why it matters
Bound up with an early frontier school and church, this cemetery preserves the founding farm families whose community life centered on the classroom and the pew.
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Related people
- · James W. Haynes
- · M. W. Preskitt
Themes & tags
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