DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Pleasant Hill Cemetery has to say — and it's a story worth slowing down for. Now, there are cemeteries, and then there are cemeteries that have been quietly holding a community together for a century and a half. Pleasant Hill, out in western Bell County, is the latter kind.
It has been serving the citizens of this area since 1855, making it one of the oldest cemeteries in the whole county. And like most things that last that long, it started with a single soul. The first person interred at the site was J.
Carmack, who passed in 1855. Carmack was buried on the farm of a pioneer settler by the name of Fleming Trigg Cox — a man who had made his way to this part of Texas from Missouri back in 1852, alongside his wife Mary Guinevera, born a Leigh. Fleming and Mary built their lives here.
And when their time came, they stayed. Both of them are buried at Pleasant Hill to this day. Fleming Cox died in 1890, Mary in 1907 — fifty-five years after they first put down roots in Bell County soil.
Now, 1907 turns out to be a significant year for this place in more ways than one. That same year, Samuel and Nicia Jane Cox — descendants of Fleming Trigg Cox, Nicia Jane carrying the Cox name on both sides — deeded four and a third acres to officially form what we now call Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Before that deed, it was a farm burial ground.
After it, it was something permanent. Something public. The Cox family wasn't alone out here in those early years, not by a long stretch.
The Kaiser family was here. The Sutton family. The Shriver family.
All of them among the earliest settlers in this section of western Bell County, and all of them represented among the stones at Pleasant Hill. Families that worked hard, stayed long, and left their names in the ground. By 1901, the community had grown enough that folks organized the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association — formed specifically to provide maintenance for the place.
The association runs lean and purposeful: three officers, four trustees, and one annual meeting, held at the cemetery on the last Saturday in June every year. There's something I like about that. Not in a conference room somewhere.
Right there. At the cemetery. That same year, 1901, a tabernacle was constructed on the site — and here's the part that'll stop you — that tabernacle is still in use.
Over the years, the land itself has grown. Additions have been made through the decades, and Pleasant Hill now encompasses more than eight acres. Eight acres that hold veterans — veterans of the Mexican War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Six conflicts. Generation after generation sending someone off to fight, and the cemetery receiving them home. Today, Pleasant Hill remains active, open to persons of all religious and ethnic backgrounds.
It is still doing what it has done since J. Carmack was laid to rest on Fleming Trigg Cox's farm in 1855 — holding the memory of hard-working pioneer families who settled this corner of Texas so long ago. Some places just endure.
Pleasant Hill Cemetery is one of them.
What the marker says
Pleasant Hill Cemetery has served the citizens of this area since 1855 and is one of the oldest cemeteries in Bell County. The first person to be interred at the site was J. Carmack (d. 1855). Carmack was buried on the farm of pioneer settler Fleming Trigg Cox (d. 1890), who had arrived in the area from Missouri with his wife Mary Guinevera (Leigh) (d. 1907) in 1852. Both Fleming and Mary are buried at the site. In 1907, Samuel and Nicia Jane (Cox) Cox, descendants of Fleming Trigg Cox, deeded 4 1/3 acres to officially form the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Also among the earliest settlers in this section of western Bell County were the Kaiser, Sutton and Shriver families, and each family is represented in Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Through the years, several additions of land have been made to the site, which now encompasses more than eight acres. The Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association was organized in 1901 in order to provide maintenance for the cemetery. The association consists of three officers and four trustees and an annual meeting is held at the cemetery on the last Saturday in June. Also in 1901, a tabernacle was constructed on the site that is still in use. Burials in the cemetery include veterans of the Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Today, Pleasant Hill Cemetery reamins active and is open to persons of all religious and ethnic backgrounds. The burial ground serves as a reminder of the hard-working pioneer families who settled this area so long ago.