Cedar Branch Community and Church

Cedar Branch's school history ran through its church. The Houston County judge's report of 1888 holds the first written record of a school for the community's children. In 1895 church members built a new sanctuary and gave their earlier church building to serve as the schoolhouse. By 1911 the district was designated Common School District No. 8, and a two-room schoolhouse was later built with support from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The Cedar Branch district consolidated with Grapeland Independent School District in 1952, along with other nearby schools, according to the Texas Freedom Colonies Project.

What the plaque says

Cedar Branch Community and Church Cedar Branch began in the 1860s as a settlement of freedmen. John Smith (1809-1890) and Anna Jane Pouncy Smith (1811-1874) deeded a parcel of their cotton plantation to each of their former slaves. The freedmen organized a church in 1862 and built a sanctuary in 1864. Levi Leonard chose the name Cedar Branch for the community. He and Alonzo Campbell selected a cemetery site. By 1888 a school was established, and classes were held in the church building. In 1952 it became part of the Grapeland School District. The church continues to serve as the focus of this community. (1996)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 22 mi
  A round trip of about 25 miles of track between the Palestine and Rusk depots through the Piney Woods, on a line built by prison labor and reopened as a tourist railroad in 1976.
• Fort Boggy State Park — 25 mi
  A 1,847-acre park in Leon County named for a settlers' palisade of 1840, with a 15-acre lake, short trails and the story of Tennessee farmers, the Keechi and a Ranger captain.

More markers nearby

• Dalys/Dailey Community Cemetery — 4.9 mi
• St. Paul Shiloh High School — 5.5 mi
• Hall Cemetery — 5.7 mi
• Wesley Chapel Church and Cemetery — 10 mi