Rock Church Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker at Rock Church Cemetery has to say, and friends, it's worth every mile of road that brought you here. This one comes straight out of Hood County, Texas, so settle in. Way back in the 1850s, pioneers were pushing into a stretch of largely agricultural land, farmers and ranchers carving out a life among the fields and pastures.

The families who put down roots here read like a roll call of the frontier: Caraway, Cowan, Jackson, Jones, Pate, Baker, and Wood. They came, they stayed, and they built something that outlasted them all. Now among those early arrivals, one name stands out just a little taller than the rest.

Jesse Caraway came to Texas in 1859, out of Tennessee, and here is the part that makes you stop and think: back in Tennessee, before he ever set foot on Texas soil, Jesse Caraway had been a neighbor of Davy Crockett. A neighbor. Of Davy Crockett.

That detail traveled with him all the way from Tennessee to Hood County, and honestly, wouldn't you carry that story too? Caraway didn't just settle the land, he shaped the community around it. In 1871 and 1872, he allowed citizens to build a two-story cut stone structure right there on his property, and that building became the beating heart of the Rock Church community.

Then in 1875, Caraway went a step further. He deeded land, set it aside by deed, to be used as a church, a school, a Masonic lodge, and a cemetery. One man, one decision, and suddenly a whole community had a place to worship, to learn, to gather, and yes, to rest.

The cemetery that grew from that deeded land served not only the Rock Church community but the surrounding areas as well. And like every cemetery, it has a first. The first burial is that of Sarah Brooks, wife of Zachariah Brooks, who died on May 30, 1873.

Her tombstone carries words that are about as plain and as permanent as stone can be: "the 1st put here." No flourish, no long epitaph. Just the quiet, certain truth of it. In the years that followed, that cemetery filled.

Today, approximately 700 graves hold pioneer residents, their descendants, and others. Many veterans are interred here, going all the way back to the Civil War. And among them is a man the marker singles out by name: First Lieutenant David E.

Yates, described as a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, laid to rest in the same ground that has held this community together for generations. Walk through the headstones and you'll find something else worth noticing. Markers bearing the emblems of the Woodmen of the World, the Masons, the Shriners, the Order of the Eastern Star.

The marker calls those symbols representative of the importance of community to the people buried here. And it's hard to argue with that. These were folks who built lodges and churches and schools, who showed up for each other, and who made sure the showing-up was carved in stone.

And here is maybe the most telling thing of all: the Rock Church Cemetery still draws people back. Reunions, celebrations, gatherings to remember and honor a heritage that started with a handful of pioneer families in the 1850s. Jesse Caraway deeded that land to be used by the community, and more than a century and a half later, the community is still using it.

Some legacies, it turns out, are cut from stone for a reason.

What the marker says

Located in a largely agricultural area of farmers and ranchers, the Rock Church community was settled by pioneers in the 1850s, including the Caraway, Cowan, Jackson, Jones, Pate, Baker and Wood families. Jesse Caraway was a pioneer who arrived in Texas in 1859 from Tennessee where he had been a neighbor of Texas hero Davy Crockett. Caraway allowed citizens to build a two-story cut stone structure on his property in 1871-72 which became the center of the community. In 1875, Caraway deeded land to be used as a church, school, masonic lodge and cemetery by the Rock Church community. The Rock Church Cemetery served as the burial ground for the Rock Church community as well as surrounding areas. The first burial is that of Sarah Brooks, wife of Zachariah Brooks, who died on May 30, 1873. Her tombstone is marked with the words, "the 1st put here." Approximately 700 graves of pioneer residents, their descendants and others fill the cemetery. Many veterans, dating back to the Civil War, are interred here, including a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, 1st lt. David E. Yates. Woodmen of the World, Masons, Shriners and Order of the Eastern Star headstones are representative of the importance of community to the residents. The cemetery continues to draw people back to the Rock Church community for reunions and celebrations to remember and celebrate their heritage. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY - 2016