Wheeler Cemetery
Corrigan, Polk County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This rural graveyard began when Alabama native Jefferson L. Wheeler and his second wife, Hannah, buried their daughter, Vina (b. 1864), here in 1875. Vina died in a hunting accident. The Wheelers later donated an acre which included Vina's burial site to the surrounding community to be used as a "neighborhood burying ground." The cemetery remains active and is maintained by the Wheeler Cemetery Association. Within this graveyard are the grave sites of numerous area pioneer families and veterans of conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Korean Conflict.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This rural graveyard began in 1875 with a family's grief: Alabama-born Jefferson Wheeler and his wife Hannah buried their daughter Vina here after a hunting accident. The Wheelers later gave an acre around her grave to the community as a "neighborhood burying ground," and it remains active today. Among those interred are pioneer families and veterans of conflicts stretching from the Civil War to Korea.
Why it matters
Community cemeteries like this one hold the memory of the settler families and generations of soldiers who shaped rural East Texas.
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Related people
- · Jefferson L. Wheeler
- · Vina Wheeler
Themes & tags
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