Scranton Cemetery
Cisco, Eastland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
SETTLED IN THE 1870s, THE SCRANTON COMMUNITY GREW TO INCLUDE A POST OFFICE, STORES, A COTTON GIN, BLACKSMITH, SCHOOL AND ACADEMY. IN OCT. 1896, JOSEPH JACKSON RAY AND SARAH FRANCES (MORGAN) RAY DONATED LAND FOR A BAPTIST CHURCH AND GRAVEYARD. THE EARLIEST BURIAL HAD ALREADY OCCURRED IN JULY, THAT OF ALVIN SPRAWLS, INFANT SON OF H.B. AND M.E. SPRAWLS. A CEMETERY ASSOCIATION FORMED IN 1968. THE SCRANTON COMMUNITY CENTER HOSTS FUNERAL SERVICES, VISITATIONS, AND AN ANNUAL SCRANTON HOMECOMING. DOZENS OF MILITARY VETERANS DATING FROM THE CIVIL WAR ARE BURIED HERE, ALONG WITH EARLY SETTLERS, EDUCATORS, AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS. THE CEMETERY IS A TESTAMENT TO THE PIONEERING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE COMMUNITY.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settled in the 1870s, Scranton grew into a full community with a post office, stores, cotton gin, blacksmith, school, and academy. In 1896 Joseph Jackson Ray and his wife Sarah donated land for a Baptist church and graveyard, though the first burial — an infant of the Sprawls family — had already taken place that July. A cemetery association formed in 1968, and the nearby community center still hosts services and an annual homecoming. Veterans from the Civil War onward lie here alongside the settlement's pioneers, educators, and officials.
Why it matters
Scranton Cemetery stands as a testament to the pioneering families who built — and still gather to remember — one of Eastland County's early prairie communities.
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Related people
- · Joseph Jackson Ray
- · Sarah Frances Morgan Ray
- · Alvin Sprawls
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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