Shiloh Cemetery
Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early settlers to this area included: Melchezedec Self, who arrived in 1845; William Newton Wright, who came around 1852; and brothers John and Henry Whittenberg, who came in the early 1860s. These men, their families and others established several farming communities throughout this part of Fannin County. These pioneer settlers typically had family burial plots, and early members of the Wright and Self families are buried in the Wright Family Cemetery. Tradition holds that John M. Gross deeded land for this community cemetery sometime before 1871. By that time, others had been buried here. The first known burial is that of John Gwaltney, whose gravesite dates to the early 1860s. In 1878, W.P. and Louisa Bennett deeded land at this site to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1880, Shiloh School was established on adjacent property, and it remained in operation until 1940. Today, Shiloh cemetery is the final resting place for generations of area residents. It is also the site of family reunions and annual homecomings. Maintained by an association since 1952, it is an important link to the community's history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1840s and 1850s, families like the Selfs, Wrights, and Whittenbergs pushed into the blackland prairie of Fannin County, carving out farming communities in what was then the raw edge of the young Texas frontier. As neighbors clustered around church and school, they set aside ground for a shared burying place—land tradition says John M. Gross deeded before 1871—anchored by a Methodist congregation in 1878 and the Shiloh School that ran from 1880 to 1940. Tended by an association since 1952 and still the site of homecomings, the cemetery holds generations of the families who built the area.
Why it matters
Rural community cemeteries like Shiloh are among the most durable records of ordinary American settlement, preserving the names and kinship of pioneers whose farms and schools have otherwise vanished.
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Related people
- · Melchezedec Self
- · William Newton Wright
- · John M. Gross
Themes & tags
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