Shady Grove Cemetery
Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Shady Grove Cemetery In 1852, the congregation of the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church received a gift of four acres from land promoter Frost Thorn (1793-1854) on which to build a church and school. The churchyard came into use as a cemetery shortly thereafter with the burials on November 11 and 12, 1855, of children John Hurt (b. 1849) and John Littleton (b.1853); the circumstances of their deaths, just one day apart, are unknown. The growth of the community brought with it numerous businesses, a high school and a post office that operated from 1890 to 1905. The Church of Christ gained local influence, absorbing a Baptist church and building a new sanctuary on this site in 1889. Area women established a community club in the early 1900s that took on the responsibility of cleaning and beautifying this property. In 1977, an association was formed to manage the cemetery, and the Church of Christ eventually deeded the acreage to the group. Today, the association offers perpetual care of the graves and the grounds, and continues to administer the affairs of this site that chronicles the pioneers and generations of families that are the heritage of the once-thriving community of Shady Grove. Historic Texas Cemetery-2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1852 land promoter Frost Thorn gave four acres to the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist congregation for a church and school, and the churchyard became a cemetery when two young children were buried a day apart in November 1855. The growing community gained businesses, a high school, and a post office before the Church of Christ built a new sanctuary here in 1889. Local women's clubs and, later, a cemetery association took up the long work of tending the grounds that record the once-thriving village of Shady Grove.
Why it matters
Shady Grove's cemetery preserves the memory of a vanished East Texas community and the generations who built and sustained it.
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Related people
- · Frost Thorn
Themes & tags
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