Bear Creek Cemetery

The story

This cemetery was developed adjacent to the site of the Bear Creek Missionary Baptist Church, which was organized in 1853. The earliest marked grave is that of Hiram Jackson Farris (d. 1858), the infant son of G.W. and Mary Farris. Isham Crowley (1798-1878), who came to Texas as a member of Peters Colony, donated the burial ground and deeded it to church trustees in 1876.

The congregation later moved to Dallas County and was renamed Western Heights Missionary Baptist Church. Still in use, Bear Creek Cemetery is the burial site of many eastern Tarrant County pioneers. (1980)