Arledge Ridge Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Two brothers stepped off a wagon from Alabama sometime in the 1850s, and Fannin County, Texas would never quite be the same. Their names were Joseph and William Arledge, and they came ready to work.

Both of them carved out successful farms in the area, and the settlement that grew up around them took on the family name. Arledge Ridge. Simple as that, and fitting as anything.

Now, Joseph, he had an eye for commerce beyond the fence line. He operated one of the earliest freight lines in all of Fannin County, running regular routes clear to the port city of Jefferson. Think about what that meant out here, hauling goods across rough country on a schedule.

William, for his part, established a cotton gin in the central part of the county. And as if that weren't enough, he later sold an acre of land to be used for a community school and church. These were men who were building something.

Then in 1876, William Arledge deeded a tract of land to be designated as a community burial ground. That became Arledge Ridge Cemetery. Local tradition holds that burials may have taken place there as early as the 1840s, though the oldest documented grave belongs to Joseph Arledge himself, who died in 1855.

The man who helped put this place on the map was one of the first laid to rest in its soil. Interred alongside him over the years are many of the area's early settlers, and a number of Civil War veterans as well. The cemetery grew with the community it served, through additional land acquisitions in 1893, then 1948, and again in 1965.

The Arledge Ridge Cemetery Association, organized in 1948, took up the work of maintaining that historic ground and sponsors an annual homecoming event to this day. Two brothers from Alabama, a freight line to Jefferson, a cotton gin, a school, a church, and a burial ground that has held the memory of a community for generations. That's Arledge Ridge, friend.

Some legacies, they just don't let go.

What the marker says

Among the early settlers of this area were Joseph and William Arledge, brothers who arrived from Alabama in the 1850s. Both established successful farms in the area, and the growing settlement became known as Arledge Ridge. Joseph Arledge operated one of the earliest freight lines in Fannin County, with regular routes to the port city of Jefferson. William Arledge established a cotton gin in the central part of the county and later sold an acre of land to be used for a community school and church. A tract of land, deeded by William Arledge in 1876, was designated as a community burial ground. According to local tradition, burials may have taken place in the cemetery as early as the 1840s, but the oldest documented grave is that of Joseph Arledge who died in 1855. Interred in the Arledge Ridge Cemetery are many early settlers, as well as a number of Civil War veterans. Additional land acquisitions in 1893, 1948, and 1965 enlarged the cemetery tract. The Arledge Ridge Cemetery Association, organized in 1948, maintains the historic graveyard and sponsors an annual homecoming event.