Historic Cemetery

Clark Dickey Cemetery

a.k.a. Clark Dickey Smith Cemetery; Dickey Cemetery

Fairmont, Texas
Location: SB-C086 Clark-Dickey Cemetery AKA Dickey Cem. AKA Clark-Dickey-Smith Cem [THC subj. marker, HTC] AKA Big Sandy CommunityNOT AKA Smith, Obediah Jackson Cem. Clark-Dickey and Smith Cemetery — Recorded: SABI01—Parsons, Kim. 1988. References to Texas Cemeteries; Sabine Co Hist Commission with Kay Parker McCary, Weldon McDaniel, and M. Doer website, Rootsweb: “Off #117 on Sandy Creek. Historic Marker as Clark-Dickey-Smith Cemeteries; biog. William and Mahala Graham Clark: “settled in the Big Sandy Creek area before 1837. William died in 1856 and his is the oldest marked grave in the Clark-Dickey Cemetery. It is believed that earlier pioneers camped near here and buried their dead in unmarked graves. In 1850 Obediah Jackson Smith and Elizabeth Chapman bought land from William F. Clark. Obediah died in 1868; his is the only marked grave in the Smith Cemetery. It is likely that family members are also buried nearby. These two cemeteries are the last physical remnants of the Big Sandy Creek community. Erected 1996.” Clark-Dickey and Smith Cem. Assoc. PO Box 16546, Hemphill, TX 75948. (409/787-3204.) THC marker notes: “14 miles S of Hemphill on SH87, turn 4 miles W on forest road USFS117, then 2 miles on USFS 117B.”THC site visit MB 8/31/04 w/ W. McDaniel. Fenced formal site, THC marker. Diversity of formal markers over time, including some fieldstone. Veterans, DRT, Masonic, CSA. Adjacent wooded area. Nearby Obediah Jackson Smith Cem, separate site, NE 162 ft., but included in historical marker. Little floral. White sand, some large Oak marker trees. Clark-Dickey Cemetery. Approx 0.18 acre. SB-C086. Sandy Creek area. GPS 31.11.48.88115N –93.47.30.19122W. Quad 3193-224. © RIP Survey, Texas Historical CommissionModerate risk, remote, nat’l forest, but well-fenced, maintained, THC marker, on USGS map 3193-224.

Source: RIP Fields Table

To address the problem of cemetery destruction and to record as many cemeteries as possible, the Texas Historical Commission offers the Historic Texas Cemetery designation.

The Historic Texas Cemetery designation was developed in 1998 to help protect historic cemeteries by recording cemetery boundaries in county deed records to alert present and future owners of land adjacent to the cemetery of its existence. Every county in Texas has at least one cemetery designated as a Historic Texas Cemetery through this program. The HTC designation is the first step toward preservation of a historic cemetery.

A cemetery is eligible for designation if it is at least 50 years old and is deemed worthy of recognition for its historical associations. The very nature of a cemetery being a landmark of a family’s or community’s presence is considered to validate the criteria of historical associations. Any individual, organization, or agency may submit a request for designation.

gravesites