DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'll be passing it on to you the way Duane does — one mile at a time. Now settle in, because this one starts with something as simple as a woman's three words and ends up echoing across more than a century of Franklin County ground. Around 1850, early settlers out here were gatherin' for Methodist camp meetings near a spring at the foot of a hill.
Picture it — folks coming in from the surrounding land, finding shade, finding water, finding one another. And at one of those meetings, a lady looked around at the whole scene and said, plain as you please, "this is a pleasant place." That was enough for Gideon Edwards, the owner of the land, who took those words and gave the site its name: Pleasant Hill. Then the work of building something permanent began.
In 1854, the Reverend Carter — also known as McCarter — organized the Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. That same year, Gideon and Jane Edwards deeded five acres of this ground to the newly formed church, set aside for sanctuary and cemetery purposes. They weren't just organizing a congregation.
They were staking out a piece of earth for the long run. A log sanctuary went up in 1854, and the cemetery received its first recorded burial ten years later — Robert L. McGill, in 1864.
Now here's where the story takes a turn that nobody in 1850 could have seen coming. In 1874, Texas Governor Richard Coke rode out to Pleasant Hill. And he wasn't alone — about eleven hundred people gathered here that day.
What brought them all out? A bell. A bell made in England, being dedicated to its new home in the church belfry.
Eleven hundred people. For a bell. You have to appreciate a community that shows up like that.
Pleasant Hill kept on building. A new sanctuary rose in 1880. Board planks were added to the church's arbor in 1888.
The congregation was alive and moving. But nothing lasts forever in quite the way you hope. A later church building was razed around 1950, the time the congregation is believed to have disbanded.
The bell that once drew a governor and eleven hundred souls was repositioned atop the improved arbor — still standing, still present, but the community around it had grown quiet. And then, in 1974, that beloved English bell was sold to a resident of nearby Mount Vernon. But here's the thing about Pleasant Hill that the marker wants you to know, and I think it's the right note to end on.
The cemetery is still here. It still serves the community. And in those graves you'll find veterans of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean Conflict.
The church may have gone still. The bell may be gone. But the ground itself has been keeping faith with this community since 1864, and it's keeping it still.
What the marker says
About 1850, near a spring at the foot of this hill, early settlers of this area gathered for Methodist camp meetings. According to local tradition it was at one of these meetings that a lady's remark that "this is a pleasant place," resulted in Gideon edwards, the owner of the land, calling the site Pleasant Hill. The Rev. Carter (McCarter) organized the Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church in 1854. In that year Gideon and Jane Edwards deeded five acres here to the newly formed Methodist Church for sanctuary and cemetery purposes. a log sanctuary was built in 1854. The first recorded burial was that of Robert L. McGill in 1864. In 1874 Texas Governor Richard Coke spoke to about 1100 people who gathered here to dedicate the placement in the church belfry of a bell made in England. The church built a new sanctuary in 1880 and added board planks to its arbor in 1888. A later church building was razed about 1950, the time the congregation is believed to have disbanded. The bell was subsequently repositioned atop the improved arbor. The beloved bell was sold to a resident of nearby Mt. Vernon in 1974. Pleasant Hill Cemetery, which contains the graves of veterans of the civil War, World Wars I & II, and the Korean Conflict, continues to serve the community. (1993)