Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery
Meridian, Bosque County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Jackson Smith (1799-1867) and his wife Margaret (1802-1881) migrated here from Mississippi in the 1850's and founded Smith Bend community. They gave land for this cemetery after the death of their son Burton (1832-1856). The Smith's daughter Ann and her husband Silas McCabe started the nearby settlement of Coon Creek. Residents of the two communities, descendants, and friends help maintain the burial ground. Enlarged by later land donations, the site contains over 500 graves. (1978) Incise on back: Marker Sponsors: Mmes. Marshall V. Bonds, Lois Smith Hill, Camille Smith Womack
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Jackson Smith and his wife Margaret migrated from Mississippi to Bosque County in the 1850s and founded the Smith Bend community, giving land for this cemetery after their son Burton died in 1856. Their daughter Ann and her husband Silas McCabe started the nearby settlement of Coon Creek, and the two communities have long shared the care of the burial ground. Enlarged over the years, the site now holds more than 500 graves of pioneers, their descendants, and friends.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the interwoven family ties that founded and sustained two frontier Texas communities across generations.
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Related people
- · John Jackson Smith
- · Margaret Smith
- · Silas McCabe
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Coon Creek
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The Coon Creek community grew out of the older Cyrus settlement, the earliest in southeastern Bosque County, where Temple Spivey bought Brazos River land in 1853. Within a few years John Jackson Smith established a plantation, a school opened in a one-room log cabin, and a shared cemetery took root. By 1883 the settlement split into Smith Bend and Coon Creek, and its school, church, and the two-story "Pie" Bonds house still knit the community together.
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