Mt. Sinai Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Sabine County. Now settle in, because this one's got more layers than a good brisket, and every layer goes a little deeper than the last.

Mt. Sinai Cemetery has been serving the residents of southeastern Sabine County for more than a hundred years. The first interment in that burial ground dates to 1894.

That's where the straightforward part ends. See, if you walk among those graves and check the dates on the stones, some of them reach back further than 1894. And there's a reason for that.

Three other cemeteries once existed in this part of the county. The Morris Cemetery. The Anthony Cemetery.

The Robertson Cemetery. Three separate grounds where families had laid their people to rest, going back generations. Then came Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Built by 1968, that reservoir sent water creeping across the land, and it did not ask permission. When the water came, those graves couldn't stay where they were. So the families, the community, whoever had the will to do it, they made sure those souls were moved.

Relocated to Mt. Sinai, where the ground was safe. That's why the earlier burial dates are there.

Not buried twice, just carried home one more time. Now, the land itself has its own chapter. Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company deeded the land for the cemetery in 1955.

And today, the Mt. Sinai Cemetery Association continues to maintain that ground. Three cemeteries worth of memory, more than a century of the living tending to the dead.

Out there in southeastern Sabine County, that burial ground is still doing what it was always meant to do, reminding folks of what came before.

What the marker says

Mt. Sinai Cemetery has served residents of southeastern Sabine County for more than 100 years. The first interment in the burial ground dates to 1894. Earlier burial dates, however, represent graves relocated here from the Morris, Anthony and Robertson cemeteries after water encroachment from the Toledo Bend Reservoir, built by 1968, necessitated the reinterments. Lutcher & Moore Lumber Company deeded land for the cemetery in 1955. Today, Mt. Sinai Cemetery Association continues to maintain the burial ground, which serves as a reminder of Sabine County's past. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006