Shanks Cemetery
Kirvin, Freestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Matthew and Robert Shanks of Alabama settled here with their families in 1859. A small farming community developed, and in 1870 a school was built on a one-acre site donated by R. C. Murray. Land beside the schoolyard became a public burial ground, known as Shanks Cemetery after Shanks Post Office opened in 1896. The earliest recorded burial was Burgess A. Whatley (1854-1892). In 1893 G. W. Bell deeded another half acre east of the graveyard. The school building was torn down in 1917. Shanks Cemetery Association has maintained the site since 1935. (1977) (Historic Texas Cemetery medallion)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Two brothers from Alabama settled here with their families in 1859, and a small farming community grew up around a school built in 1870 on donated land. The adjoining ground became a public burial place known as Shanks Cemetery after the local post office opened in 1896, and a cemetery association has cared for the site since 1935.
Why it matters
Shanks Cemetery preserves the memory of a self-sustaining pioneer farm community whose school, post office, and graveyard once formed the whole of rural life in Freestone County.
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Related people
- · Matthew Shanks
- · Robert Shanks
- · R. C. Murray
- · Burgess A. Whatley
Themes & tags
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