Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery

North Bennett was first known as Head, for J. B. Head, the county's first judge, who moved to the site around 1890. The Head community lay on a mail route from Caradan and had a church and school in 1936; it later took the name North Bennett, presumably from the northern fork of Bennett Creek. The Mount Olive community, ten miles northeast of Goldthwaite, was settled in 1877 by families including John Neal, J. J. Wilcox and Thomas Huckabee, Sr. It declined early in the 1900s, kept its school until 1947 and was abandoned by the 1980s.

What the plaque says

Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church was organized in July 1899 with nineteen charter members in the community of North Bennett. The new church adopted the articles of faith of the Old Harmony Baptist Association and called Elder W. W. Fowler as first pastor. The church purchased 15 acres of land in 1901 for a house of worship and cemetery. The church building also was used as a school-house and was shared with other denominations. Area population declined during World War ll, and by 1999 the church had four members. In addition to several of the church's charter members, many of the early settlers of the community are interred here, as are veterans of the U. S. Armed Forces. With more than 150 graves in 1999, the cemetery continues to serve the entire community. (1999)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Caradan Cemetery — 3.4 mi
• Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church — 6.1 mi
• North Brown Cemetery — 6.4 mi
• Center City Baptist Church — 9.2 mi