Dickerson Cemetery

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of Dickerson Cemetery in San Augustine County. William and Lucinda Dickerson established this burial ground after the death of a son, Levi, in 1858. Think on that for a moment.

The Dickerson family had come a long way, up from Florida, settling in a place called Grapevine back in 1839. They put down roots, built a life, and then grief put a different kind of root in the ground. A son named Levi, and a burial ground where there hadn't been one before.

That's how cemeteries begin, most of the time. Not by plan, but by loss. The family opened the ground to neighbors and other family, and additional property was donated over time, the way land tends to move toward a purpose once that purpose makes itself known.

By 1946 a community church had moved right up beside it, and for a while that church housed all denominations under one roof. All except the Missionary Baptist Church. One by one, the others eventually moved on to their own buildings, but that cemetery kept right on serving.

Today Dickerson Cemetery features curbing, grave slabs, and vertical stones, and among those interred are veterans of conflicts dating all the way back to the Civil War. It is, as the marker says, a record of the area's early settlement, still serving the community of Grapevine. William and Lucinda started it with sorrow, and the community kept building it with memory.

Some things outlast everything else.

What the marker says

William and Lucinda Dickerson established this burial ground after the death of a son, Levi, in 1858. The Dickerson family came from Florida, settling in Grapevine in 1839. The family opened the cemetery to neighbors and other family, and additional property was donated. A community church moved beside it in 1946; all denominations housed in the church, except for the Missionary Baptist Church, eventually moved to other buildings. Now a community burial ground, Dickerson Cemetery features curbing, grave slabs and vertical stones. Among those interred are veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War. Today, it continues to serve Grapevine while providing a record of the area's early settlement. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2009