Ebenezer Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Ebenezer Cemetery in Camp County. Now settle in, because even a quiet patch of ground has a story worth hearin'. It starts with a man named Israel B.

Rape, and a deed. Back in 1857, Rape put pen to paper and officially set aside property for what would become Ebenezer Cemetery. That act of intention, that legal commitment to the ground, is where the story formally begins.

Here's the wry part, though. Israel B. Rape and his wife Sarah, the very man who deeded the land for this cemetery, they aren't buried in it.

The two of them rest over in Pittsburg's Rosehill Cemetery. Make of that what you will. The Rapes were part of a wave of pioneering families who came to this part of Texas from Georgia during the 1850s, and together those families founded the Ebenezer community.

They planted roots here in Camp County the way people do, by building something meant to last. The oldest known burial in the cemetery belongs to an infant, Pairlie Clementine Bailey, who died in September 1870. A child who never had a chance to know the community her family helped build.

That name deserves to be said out loud, and the marker makes sure it is. The cemetery grew over the years, enlarged through donations of property, until it reached the two acres it holds today. A cemetery association was organized in 1971 to preserve and maintain the site, because places like this don't keep themselves.

And here's what the marker wants you to carry down the road: Ebenezer Cemetery remains active. It is not abandoned, not forgotten. It stands as a reminder of an early Camp County settlement, tended by people who understand that remembering is its own kind of work.

What the marker says

Ebenezer Cemetery was officially established when Israel B. Rape deeded property for the cemetery in 1857. However, Rape and his wife Sarah are buried in Pittsburg's Rosehill Cemetery. Ebenezer community was founded by the Rapes and several other pioneering families who arrived in the area from Georgia during the 1850s. The oldest known burial in the cemetery is that of infant Pairlie Clementine Bailey, who died in September 1870. A cemetery association was organized in 1971 to preserve and maintain the site. The cemetery has been enlarged through donations of property and now contains two acres. Today, Ebenezer Cemetery remains active and serves as a reminder of an early Camp County settlement. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2009