Ferguson Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker out here in Limestone County has to say — so let's get into it together. Now, most places out here got their start late, but Joseph and Hannah Ferguson weren't waiting on anybody. They moved to this area in the 1830s — you heard that right — years before Limestone County even existed, years before Texas statehood had a thing to say about it.

The land they settled spread across a stretch folks came to call Ferguson Prairie, running from south of the early Box Church community all the way out to and including what is now Oletha. That's a considerable piece of ground, and the Fergusons were the kind of people who put roots down deep. When the Oletha community took shape in the 1870s, records show the Fergusons were right there as founding members.

They weren't newcomers by then — they were the ones who'd been holding the ground all along. Other early residents came to fill out the community too: J.S. and W.S. McKenzie, John Sadler, Charles Roberts, W.W.

Barnett. Names that meant something out here on the prairie. Now, about that cemetery.

Local tradition holds that the very first burial there was for a young girl — a child whose family had come to the area for a protracted camp revival. She died while they were there, far from wherever they called home, and she was laid to rest in this ground. No marked grave for her, just a story that passed from neighbor to neighbor across generations.

The first marked grave belongs to Hannah Ferguson herself — Hannah Penrod Ferguson — who died in 1866. And Joseph, who had walked this prairie since the 1830s, died in 1875 and was buried right beside her. There's something in that.

Two people who arrived before there was even a county, and the land kept them together at the end. Among the notable burials here is John Sadler, who died in 1885. Sadler had fought in the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution — which means this quiet cemetery in Limestone County holds a man who stood in one of the most consequential moments in Texas history.

That's the kind of thing that'll sneak up on you if you're not paying attention. The original Ferguson Cemetery site was formally deeded to the community in 1932. And then, in 1997, descendants of those interred here did what good descendants do — they formed an association to maintain the burial ground and keep that connection to the community's early history alive.

A young girl at a camp revival. A pioneer woman who came before the county had a name. A soldier from San Jacinto.

They're all out here together, under the same Limestone County sky, waiting to be remembered. And now you know who they are.

What the marker says

Joseph and Hannah (Penrod) Ferguson moved to this area in the 1830s, years before the formation of Limestone County following Texas statehood. Their property, known as Ferguson Prairie, stretched from sough of the early Box Church community to beyond, and including, present-day Oletha. Records indicate the Fergusons were founding members of the Oletha community, established in the 1870s. Other early residents included J.S. and W.S. McKenzie, John Sadler, Charles Roberts and W.W. Barnett. Local tradition holds the first burial at what became the community cemetery was for a young girl whose family was in the area for a protracted camp revival when she died. The first marked grave is that of Hannah (Penrod) Ferguson (d. 1866). Joseph, who died in 1875, is buried beside her. Notable burials include the one of John Sadler (d. 1885), who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. The original Ferguson Cemetery site was formally deeded to the community in 1932. In 1997, descendants of those interred here formed an association to maintain the burial ground, an important link to the community's early history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004