HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Rock Creek Cemetery

Rock Creek, Parker County, Texas

Marker Inscription

In the 1870s a stagecoach stop was established on the nearby Fort Worth-Fort Belknap Military Road. The stage line led to the area's early settlement, and the community that developed here became known as Rock Creek. In 1884 the Rock Creek Baptist Church was founded on a site about two miles southeast. By the early 1900s, when the congregation had relocated here, the Rock Creek Cemetery was in use. The earliest marked grave is that of Bertie Ladd (1885-96). Other burials include those of pioneer settlers and leaders of church and community. (1982)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In the 1870s a stagecoach stop on the Fort Worth–Fort Belknap Military Road drew the first settlers to what became the community of Rock Creek in Parker County. The Rock Creek Baptist Church was founded nearby in 1884, and as the congregation relocated the cemetery came into use, its earliest marked grave that of young Bertie Ladd (1885–96). Pioneer settlers and community leaders rest among its graves.

Why it matters

The cemetery grew from a stagecoach line and military road, showing how transportation routes seeded the settlement of frontier North Texas and left communities in their wake.

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Themes & tags

TransportationWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

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