Purves Live Oak Cemetery

The earliest marked burial on this site is that of an infant who was born to the Ascue family on July 20, 1880, and died the same day. Though no deed to the cemetery has been found, deeds to the surrounding property refer to the four-acre burial ground. The Purves community was named for John Purves, who founded a church in the area in 1890, and William M. Purves, who became the town's first postmaster in 1897. Among the pioneers represented here are members of the Ascue, Bruner, Case, Currier, Daniel, Harris, McCurdy, McGee, Munch, Rasmussen, Stephens, Tatum, Turnbow and Whisenant families. With 359 graves in 1999, the cemetery continues to serve the community of Purves and the surrounding vicinity as a burial ground and a chronicle of history. (2000).