Old Rock Hill Cemetery

The first burial date is not firm. The marker gives Thomas Clark, 1851, but a county volunteer survey lists Catherine Lindsey, who died in January 1857, as the oldest marked grave and gives Clark's death as October 1, 1881. The land was public domain until 1857, when A. J. Laymance got title. The survey says Martin W. Horn (1830-1896), for whom Horn Branch is named, was born in Germany. The old cemetery has had no burials since 1913, and the Rock Hill Cemetery Association owns both grounds.

What the plaque says

Old Rock Hill Cemetery The first known burial in this cemetery, that of Thomas Clark, dates to 1851. He was buried on land that was public domain until 1857 when A. J. Laymance was awarded title to a tract of land of more than 292 acres. The Old Rock Hill Cemetery consists of nearly an acre of land and lies in the southeast corner of the Laymance survey. Many of the early settlers along the Horn Branch and the Kickapoo Creek watersheds are buried here. Martin Horn, for whom Horn Branch is named, and his wife Minda are buried here. Although there are 80 documented burials, several grave markers have become illegible. Among those buried here are John Lindsey, veteran of the War of 1812 and a Cherokee County commissioner, and Civil War veterans Hassell Chandler, John Boatman, and Jacob R. Laymance. The last burial to occur here was in 1913 upon the death of Era Tindel. When roads to this site became impassable during bad weather, a new cemetery was established nearby and named the New Rock Hill Cemetery. In 1983 the Old Rock Hill Cemetery was deeded to the Rock Hill Cemetery Association, which owns and maintains both sites. (1996)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center — 13 mi
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• Camp Ford Historic Park — 18 mi
  A free county park north of Tyler on the site of the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi, with a kiosk, an interpretive trail and a historical society museum downtown.

More markers nearby

• Site of Old Normandy — 3.7 mi
• Brownsboro Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery — 3.7 mi
• Yarborough Home — 3.8 mi
• Cherokee Exodus from Texas — 3.8 mi