Refuge Cemetery
Grapeland, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Reuben (1805-1859) and Sarah Parker (1807-1852) Brown came from Illinois to settle here in 1833. Their oldest son, John (1837-1921), lived his entire life within a mile of Old Fort Brown, his birthplace. In 1865, when John deeded two acres to Houston County for a church and school, his parents had already been laid to rest at the site that his mother-in-law, Mary Murchison (1814-1903), chose to call “Refuge.” Jim Brown (1858-1932), son of Reuben and his second wife, Amanda (Ross) Hogue (b. 1822), gave one more acre for cemetery use in 1889. Today, an association cares for this burial ground that records a portion of Houston County’s heritage. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Reuben and Sarah Brown left Illinois to settle here in 1833, and their son John lived his whole long life within a mile of his birthplace at Old Fort Brown. In 1865 John deeded two acres for a church and school, on a site his mother-in-law had already chosen and named 'Refuge' as the family's resting place. Another acre followed in 1889, and a cemetery association tends the ground today.
Why it matters
Spanning from a family's arrival in the 1830s to their gift of land for a school and church, Refuge Cemetery charts the founding of a pioneer community and the institutions it built.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Reuben Brown
- · Sarah Parker Brown
- · John Brown
- · Mary Murchison
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Augusta Union Church
Grapeland, TX
Probably built in the 1850s, this rural "union" church opened its doors to several denominations and doubled as the Augusta community's schoolhouse in its early years. Its fabric—shiplap siding, Greek Revival trim, Victorian-era shingled gables, and an early-twentieth-century steeple—records generations of change layered onto one modest frame building. It still gathers the community each year for homecoming observances.
Waneta Community and School
Houston County, TX
The Waneta community took root in 1852 when Charles W. Butler bought land and began farming; by the 1870s a cluster of families had gathered around a general store, blacksmith, and cotton gin. A post office opened in 1899, and the Waneta School served local children from 1914 until it consolidated with Grapeland in 1949. Though the town faded after the 1940s, descendants of its founding families still live nearby.
Liberty Hill Community
Houston County, TX
George W. Wilson brought his family from Kentucky in 1835 to what became the Liberty Hill neighborhood of Houston County, joined by other pioneer families. The community never platted a townsite or won a post office, but it grew a school that doubled as a house of worship, Baptist and Methodist congregations, and a handful of general stores. As people left the countryside for cities after World War II, Liberty Hill faded, sustained afterward by an annual homecoming and a 1960s community center.
Providence Church and Cemetery
Palestine, TX
In 1858 a landowner deeded eight acres here for a school and burial ground, meeting a pressing frontier need to educate the children of this farming community. Neighbors, including local Freemasons, raised a two-story building that ingeniously stacked civic life under one roof: a school and Baptist church below, a Masonic lodge above. Tornado damage ended the school in 1900, but the church was salvaged from its own materials and served worshippers for decades, while its cemetery still receives burials and hosts an annual homecoming with dinner on the ground.