Sand Springs Cemetery
Mineola, Wood County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally known as the Big Spring Cemetery, this burial ground first served pioneer settlers of the surrounding rural community. It was formally set aside for burials in 1860 when Matthew Cartwright, a prominent landowner from San Augustine County, conveyed seven acres at this site to the Big Spring Baptist Church. The grounds were later enlarged through additional donations and purchases of land. Although many of the earliest gravesites here are unmarked, they include those of individuals associated with the church, the community school, which closed in 1913, and the San Springs Masonic Lodge No. 365, which was organized in 1873 and disbanded in 1892. Among the oldest marked graves is that of pioneer settler Thomas Ship (1796-1863), who served as an early trustee of the cemetery operation. In 1927 the burial ground was deeded to the Big Spring Cemetery Association by John Harris, a trustee of the church, which had disbanded two years earlier. Sometime later the association and cemetery were renamed Sand Springs. Still used, the burial ground contained over 1000 graves. The site of an annual June homecoming, it now serves as a reminder of the area's rich heritage. (1982)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Known first as Big Spring Cemetery, this East Texas burial ground was serving pioneer families by 1860, when prominent landowner Matthew Cartwright deeded seven acres to the Big Spring Baptist Church. Around it clustered the ordinary institutions of a rural community—a church, a school that closed in 1913, and a Masonic lodge active from 1873 to 1892. Renamed Sand Springs and still in use, it holds over a thousand graves and remains the site of an annual June homecoming.
Why it matters
Community cemeteries like Sand Springs trace the full arc of frontier settlement in Texas, binding together the churches, schools, and fraternal lodges that turned scattered homesteads into lasting towns.
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Related people
- · Matthew Cartwright
- · Thomas Ship
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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