Long Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Long Cemetery, out in Hopkins County. Now settle in, because this one starts before there was even a town to speak of. In the late 1830s, Texas Rangers camped on a hill west of what is now Cumby, resting in a grove of blackjack oak trees.

Settlers, looking for safety in uncertain times, drew themselves close to that camp and founded a community they called Black Jack Grove. That name stuck for a good while, before the place was eventually renamed Cumby and grew into a trade center during the late nineteenth century. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

South of Black Jack Grove, down along Turkey Creek, there was a smaller cluster of folks known simply as Crossroads. In the 1850s, James M. and Mary Long settled in there and put down roots. Tradition holds that around 1860, they set aside a piece of land for a burial.

A girl had died, passing through the area with her family, and the Longs made room for her in the earth. That quiet act of decency may be where this cemetery begins. By 1865, James had remarried, to a woman named Susan Luttrell, and the grave of Mary Long, if it's still there at all, is among those that stand today without a marker.

The oldest marked grave belongs to John M. Webb, who died in 1869. From there, the record fills in slowly.

Civil War veterans rest here. So do members of the Woodmen of the World. Some of the earlier graves are marked only by small concrete blocks that replaced the original bois d'arc posts, which is its own kind of story, how the land keeps the names even when the markers have to be swapped out.

The cemetery was enlarged in the 1970s, and an association still meets there annually. Long Cemetery stands as a reminder of the generations of settlers who made their lives, and left their dead, in this corner of Hopkins County.

What the marker says

Texas Rangers in the late 1830s camped on a hill west of present Cumby in a grove of black jack oak trees. Settlers established a community near them for protection and called the settlement Black Jack Grove. Later renamed Cumby, it grew into a trade center during the late 19th century. In the 1850s, James M. and Mary Long settled along Turkey Creek in a small community known as Crossroads, south of Black Jack Grove. Tradition holds they set aside land c. 1860 for the burial of a girl who died when her family passed through the area. By 1865, James had rewed, to Susan Luttrell, and the grave of Mary Long may be among those that are today unmarked. The first marked grave at Long Cemetery is that of John M. Webb (d. 1869). Other early marked graves include those of Civil War veterans and Woodmen of the World members, while several burials are indicated by small concrete markers that replaced original bois d'arc posts. An association meets annually at the burial ground, which was enlarged in the 1970s. The site now serves as a reminder of generations of area settlers. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005