Pecan Cemetery

The Pecan Cemetery traces its history to 1880. The oldest marked grave is that of Horace F. Adams (October 19-November 14, 1880), son of Isaac (1842-1931) and Mary (1855-1915) Adams, who are also buried in the historic graveyard. A memorial marker for Civil War casualty Daniel Turney (1829-1864) bears the earliest death date, although he is actually buried in Tyler. His family placed the memorial at his wife's grave site in the 1960s. The cemetery contains a number of 19th-century graves. It was the primary burial ground for residents of the Purves Community, which grew up around a blacksmith shop owned by James Purves. Friendship Baptist Church, located near the cemetery, served the community from 1884 until it disbanded in 1915. The building was torn down in 1922 and the material was used to build a tabernacle at Pecan Cemetery. Funerals were held in the tabernacle, and on annual special days families gathered there for refreshment while working in the cemetery. The Pecan Cemetery Endowment Corporation was formed in 1961 to provide perpetual care for the graveyard. (1992).