Tatum Cemetery
Tatum, Rusk County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Begun as a burial ground for the family of pioneer settler Albert Tatum (1810-70), this land was the site of the rose garden near his plantation home. It was first used as a cemetery in 1862 for the interment of his son william. Also buried here is Tatum's son Paul (1848-1914), donor of the Tatum townsite. Known as "Uncle Fox," Paul Tatum deeded this site as a public burial ground in 1914. Still in use, the cemetery serves as a reminder of the pioneers and early community leaders who figured prominently in the town's development.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This burial ground began in 1862 on land that had been the rose garden beside pioneer settler Albert Tatum's plantation home, when his son William was laid to rest there. Tatum's son Paul (1848–1914), known as "Uncle Fox" and donor of the Tatum townsite, deeded the site as a public cemetery in 1914. Still in use, it preserves the memory of the early families who shaped the community's growth.
Why it matters
The cemetery ties the town of Tatum directly to its founding family, whose plantation, land gifts, and graves anchored the settlement that took their name.
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Related people
- · Albert Tatum
- · Paul Tatum
- · William Tatum
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Town of Tatum
Tatum, TX
Albert Tatum, a wealthy Alabama planter, settled in the 1840s where Trammel's Trace crossed the Grand Bluff Road, building a plantation home with enslaved labor that became a social center of the area. His family gave land for a railroad station in 1882, and his son Paul—"Uncle Fox"—laid out the townsite in 1892, after which farming and lumbering carried the community forward. A lake and power plant brought a fresh wave of growth in the 1970s.
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