DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — so let the record speak. Now, some places earn their history slow and steady, and some earn it hard and fast. The Chinquapin area of San Augustine County earned its the hard way, right from the start.
Martin and Susanna Loggins packed up their children, left Tennessee, and came rolling into this part of Texas in March of 1839. They were among the earliest settlers in the Chinquapin area, and they arrived with all the hope a family carries when it's building something new. But the land had other plans.
Before that first year was even half gone, their daughter Minnie — eighteen years old — died in May of 1839. And then, just a month later, in June of that same year, their son Cade was killed. Two children.
One year. That is not a thing you move past. That is a thing you carry.
They buried Minnie and Cade in the same plot of earth, and over the following years, other Loggins family members were laid to rest alongside them. And so began what came to be called the Loggins Family Burial Ground. A name born of grief, and kept in love.
Life pressed on around that burial ground the way life does. By 1850, the small farming settlement of Chinquapin had grown enough to hold a log church and a small general store. Then in 1854, the first recorded school opened its doors — fifty-three students showing up for class, which in a settlement that size tells you something about the faith people were putting in this place.
William D. Loggins, grandson of Martin and Susanna, donated the land for much of the growing community. The family's roots had run deep enough by then that a grandson was shaping the very ground his grandparents had settled.
In 1917, the site of the burial ground, along with five acres of land, was donated to the San Augustine school system. A new two-story school building went up right next to the cemetery. Think on that a moment — children learning their letters and numbers just a stone's throw from where the Loggins family had laid their dead.
The Chinquapin school stayed on that site all the way until 1957, when students and teachers were moved to other schools within the San Augustine Independent School District. Then came August 6, 1962 — the day the original five acres were transferred back to the Loggins family. The land passed among various family members until 1977, when the burial grounds were transferred to a volunteer cemetery board of trustees.
Under their care, the cemetery was expanded to more than six acres and renamed the Chinquapin Cemetery. Today that volunteer board still runs the place. And what they're tending is no small thing.
More than two hundred monuments and gravestones stand on those grounds — among them thirty-five military markers and twelve Republic of Texas markers. Twelve. Martin and Susanna Loggins came to this country in March of 1839 and lost two children before summer was out.
What they left behind turned into a school, a community, and a cemetery that holds the stories of hundreds. That's the kind of math that doesn't fit on a marker — but it fits right here, on a road that runs through San Augustine County.
What the marker says
Among the earliest settlers in the Chinquapin area were Martin and Susanna Loggins who emigrated along with their children from Tennessee in March of 1839. Shortly after their arrival their daughter Minnie, age 18, died in May of 1839, and their son Cade was killed in June of the same year. Over the following years other Loggins family members were buried in the same plot, and so began the "Loggins Family Burial Ground." By 1850 the small farming settlement of Chinquapin had grown to include a log church and small general store. In 1854 the first recorded school began classes with 53 students in attendance. William D. Loggins, grandson of Martin and Susanna, donated the land for much of the growing community. In 1917 the site of the burial ground along with five acres of land were donated to the San Augustine school system and a new two-story school building was constructed next to the cemetery. The Chinquapin school remained on the site until 1957 when students and teachers were moved to other schools within the San Augustine Independent School District. On August 6, 1962, the original five acres were transferred back to the Loggins family; the land remained in the possession of various family members until 1977 when the burial grounds were transferred to a volunteer cemetery board of trustees. The cemetery was expanded to more than six acres and was renamed the Chinquapin Cemetery. The cemetery continues to be run by the volunteer board of trustees. It contains more than 200 monuments and gravestones, including 35 military markers and 12 Republic of Texas markers. (2000)