Ford Chapel, Cemetery, and School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. Way back before 1880, the family of John H. and Margaret Ford made their way to Texas. They didn't just pass through.

They put down roots, established farms, built homes, and helped settle this corner of Newton County. One family, and they left a mark on the land that you can still find today. Now, when a family that size takes root in a place, certain things follow.

A community starts to take shape around them. And with community comes the things a community needs: somewhere to lay the departed to rest, somewhere to teach the children, somewhere to gather and give thanks. The Fords provided for all three.

The community cemetery got its start on the land of J. D. and Ida J. Ford.

And here's where the story turns quiet for a moment, because the earliest documented burial in that cemetery is that of Promontory Inez Ford, born 1877, gone by 1880. Daughter of J. D. and Ida.

Some graves in that cemetery have no markers at all, just the earth keeping its secrets. The graveyard itself started out as scraped earth, the old way, and was planted with grass later on. Just northwest of the cemetery, you'll find the site of the Ford Community School.

It was organized in 1893 and housed in a one-room log building. One room. All the grades, all the lessons, all under one roof.

That school served the community until 1929 and 1930, when it became part of the Newton Independent School District and area students traveled to Newton for their classes. Then in 1910, a wooden frame structure went up northeast of the cemetery, built to serve as a place of worship for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The congregation gathered there regularly until the 1930s, when those regular services were discontinued.

But the chapel, it stayed. Right there on its original site, it held its ground. And here's what I find worth noting: in 1961, the Ford Chapel and Cemetery Association was organized, and they took it upon themselves to maintain the cemetery, the chapel, and the school site.

Long after the school closed, long after the Sunday singing quieted down, somebody decided these places were worth keeping. That's not nothing. That's a community saying: we remember where we came from, and we're not about to let the trees take it back.

What the marker says

The family of John H. and Margaret Ford came to Texas prior to 1880. Establishing farms and homes, the family helped settle this area of Newton County. A community cemetery was begun on the land of J. D. and Ida J. Ford. Although the cemetery contains some unmarked graves, the earliest documented burial is that of Promontory Inez Ford (1877-1880), daughter of J. D. and Ida Ford. Originally kept as a scraped earth cemetery, the graveyard was later planted with grass. Northwest of the cemetery is the site of the Ford Community School. Organized in 1893, the school was housed in a one-room log building. It became a part of the Newton Independent School District in 1929-30, and area students traveled to Newton for classes. A wooden frame structure was erected northeast of the cemetery in 1910 to serve as a place of worship for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Although regular worship services were discontinued in the 1930s, the chapel remained on its original site. The Ford Chapel and Cemetery Association, organized in 1961, maintains the cemetery as well as the chapel and school site. (1988)