Spring Creek Cemetery
Avoca vicinity, Jones County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located near Spring Creek, this cemetery began in 1891 on two acres of land donated by the Methodist church in the community known as Avo. The first recorded burial was that of Elender Cannon in February 1891. The Methodist church deeded two additional acres to the cemetery in 1892. When the railroad was extended into this area in 1902, businesses began to grow east of Spring Creek about three miles. Avo was renamed Avoca when the town moved to this location., Spring Creek cemetery is one of the only remaining landmarks left from the original townsite. The cemetery contains more than 1,000 burials, including Confederate Civil War veteran Patrick White, who was buried in February 1928. Veterans of World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam are also buried here. Additional land was donated in 1950 by the Avoca school system and by the Methodist church in 1971. Maintenance of the cemetery and its grounds began in the late 1890s with donations and an annual community workday organzied by H.E. Culwell. Still a source of pride, the cemetery continues to serve as a burial site for Avoca and local area towns.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Spring Creek Cemetery began in 1891 on land donated by the Methodist church in the community then called Avo, with Elender Cannon its first recorded burial. When the railroad arrived in 1902, the town shifted three miles east and was renamed Avoca, leaving the cemetery as one of the few landmarks of the original townsite. Today it holds more than a thousand graves, including a Confederate veteran and servicemen from World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, tended by generations of community workdays.
Why it matters
This cemetery is a layered record of a whole community—its founding, its relocation by the railroad, and the sacrifices of its sons across more than a century of American wars.
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Related people
- · Elender Cannon
- · Patrick White
Themes & tags
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