Historical Marker

Graham-Mason Cemetery

Historical marker location:
Irene, Texas
( 1.4 mi. SE of Irene on Fm 1946; right .2 mi. on CR 3449; left .1 mi. on dirt road)
Marker installed: 1999

William A. and Sarah (Hall) Graham of North Carolina migrated to Texas with their family, settling in this area in 1856. The Grahams attended Old Salem Methodist church in Zollicoffer's mill (later Irene). According to family history, slaves and former slaves were buried in and around this site, but the earliest marked grave is that of William and Sarah's granddaughter, six-year-old Mary Graham, buried in 1866.

Abe Mason of Tennessee, a Confederate veteran wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, moved to Hill County in 1869. He married the Grahams' daughter Margaret Elizabeth in 1870. When he died in 1906, Mason owned 1100 acres including this site and was among the largest landowners in Hill County. Containing 22 graves at the dawn of the 21st century, the cemetery remains the property of Graham-Mason descendants. (2000).