Rock Hill Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker at Rock Hill Cemetery tells it, and I'm passing it along just as it stands. Out in Henderson County, there's a piece of ground that's been holding the memories of this community since the late eighteen hundreds. Rock Hill Cemetery.

And the story of how it got here, how it grew, how it survived, is really a story about the people who refused to let it disappear. It starts with a man named Alexander J. Clayton.

Born in North Carolina, Clayton was a farmer and a leader, and in 1854 he migrated from Alabama with his wife Martha, she was a Carver before she married him, and their children. They put down roots in a place that would grow up around the Rock Hill Baptist Church, and that community took the name Rock Hill. The nearby settlements of Martin Springs and Pine Hill were part of this world too, and the folks from all three of those places were the first ones to use this cemetery.

The earliest recorded burial here dates to 1885. Her name was Juno Martin, a young daughter of settlers Robert James and Lenora Martin, Lenora being a Taylor before her marriage. That marker, that name, anchors everything that came after.

Now, the cemetery itself didn't get formally established until 1900. That's when Rufus Clayton, one of Alexander's sons, sold property he had inherited to his brother Columbus. That property included two acres set aside for burials.

Rufus and Columbus were both farmers, both school district trustees, and that transaction between two brothers is what put this cemetery on official footing. Over the years, the ground filled with farmers, early settlers, community leaders, veterans of military conflicts. The cemetery has features you can still see today: curbing, an enclosed wall of sandstone surrounding a grave, vertical stones, and markers from the Woodmen of the World.

It's a landscape with a lot of different voices in it. And when more land was needed, people gave it. Various individuals contributed property in 1979 and again in 1984.

That's the kind of community this was. Then in 1982, relatives of those interred here established the Rock Hill Cemetery Association, formed specifically to maintain the burial ground and keep it from being swallowed by time. Rock Hill Cemetery is still serving this area today.

It stands as a testament, the marker says so plainly, to the early Henderson County pioneers and the residents of Rock Hill, Martin Springs, and Pine Hill. Alexander Clayton migrated here in 1854 with his family and a farmer's intention to build something lasting. Turns out, the most lasting thing wasn't the crops.

What the marker says

Rock Hill Cemetery has served this area since the late 1800s. It is located on land granted to pioneer Alexander J. Clayton, who migrated here from Alabama with his wife, Martha (Carver), and his children in 1854. Clayton, who was born in North Carolina, was a farmer and leader in the Rock Hill community, which developed around the Rock Hill Baptist Church. Residents of Rock Hill, and the nearby settlements of Martin Springs and Pine Hill, were the first to use this cemetery The earliest recorded interment here, of Juno Martin, a young daughter of settlers Robert James and Lenora (Taylor) Martin, dates to 1885. In 1900, one of Alexander Clayton's sons, Rufus, sold property he inherited, including two acres set aside for burials, to his brother Columbus, formally establishing the cemetery. Rufus and Columbus were farmers and school district trustees. Others buried here include farmers, early area settlers, community leaders and veterans of military conflicts. Features in the cemetery include curbing, an enclosed wall of sandstone surrounding a grave, vertical stones and Woodmen of the World markers. Through the years, need for additional land arose; various individuals graciously contributed property to the cemetery in 1979 and 1984. In 1982, relatives of those interred here established the Rock Hill Cemetery Association to maintain the burial ground. Today, Rock Hill Cemetery continues to serve the area and remains as a testament to the early Henderson County pioneers and residents of the Rock Hill, Martin Springs and Pine Hill communities. Historic Texas Cemetery-2006