Hall Cemetery

A 2003 transcription of the stones at Hall Cemetery lists six stones that note military service, running from World War I to Vietnam. Two carry unit lines: Miller Demby, Pvt 434 Res Labor Bn OMC, and Walter Pervis, Pvt Co D 341 Lab Bn OMC. Iota Richardson and Arthur Richardson are marked as World War I soldiers, Cleon Murphy has a US Army marker, and Odie Lee Warfield a Vietnam one. The same list includes French Taylor Jr. and Mary A. Sharp, whose 1876 grave the plaque calls the earliest marked.

What the plaque says

Hall Cemetery Joshua James Hall (1790-1871) gave a portion of his land on this site about a mile from his homestead to be used as a burial ground. Hall Cemetery was already in use when freedmen French Taylor (1842-1937), Bob Denby, and Alf Warfield petitioned Hall for permission to bury their dead in the graveyard. Hall agreed, and the cemetery was used by both Anglo and African American settlers. The earliest marked grave is that of Mary A. Sharp (1843-1876). Hall Cemetery had several owners during the 20th century. A 1997 count revealed 29 marked and more than 105 unmarked graves. Descendants of early settlers continue to care for and maintain the land. (1998)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 24 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.
• Mission Tejas State Park — 24 mi
  A 661-acre pine-forest park on the old El Camino Real near Weches, with a 1930s replica of the 1690 mission, the Rice Family Log Home and trails past remnants of the Spanish road.
• Fort Boggy State Park — 27 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.
• Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area — 27 mi
  A Davy Crockett National Forest lake of about 45 acres, built by the CCC in 1936 from a sawmill log pond, with a swimming beach, camping and the start of the 20-mile Four-C Trail.

More markers nearby

• Dalys/Dailey Community Cemetery — 4.2 mi
• Wesley Chapel Church and Cemetery — 4.4 mi
• Cedar Branch Community School — 5.5 mi
• Cedar Branch Community and Church — 5.7 mi