Watson Chapel Cemetery
Bleakwood, Newton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Prominent early settler George Adams and his wife, Orinda Hester Scott, donated land for this cemetery in 1883. Although the gravestone of Tilman Scott Ingram, who was reinterred here from another cemetery, bears an earlier death dated (1880), the first recorded burials were those of John Edwards in 1883 and Orinda Adams' parents, Hester Ann Scott in 1885 and James M. Scott in 1887. Many people who worked in the area's lumber industry are interred here. Watson Chapel Cemetery is maintained by an association of descendants of persons buried here.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Prominent settler George Adams and his wife, Orinda Hester Scott, gave land for this Newton County cemetery in 1883, and local tradition holds its earliest burials may have been area Indians or enslaved people from the nearby Salem community. The oldest confirmed graves date to the 1880s, among them Orinda's parents, and many people who labored in the region's lumber industry are buried here. Descendants of those interred still maintain the grounds.
Why it matters
Watson Chapel Cemetery preserves the memory of the working families—especially the timber workers—who powered the East Texas lumber boom that reshaped the Piney Woods.
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Related people
- · George Adams
- · Orinda Hester Scott
- · Tilman Scott Ingram
Themes & tags
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