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Pioneer farmer and rancher William Pendergrass (1818-98) and his wife, Emaline (1819-1907), moved from Tennessee to Smith County, Texas, in 1849. They first came to Comanche County in 1859, then settled here permanently after a brief return to Smith County (1866-73). Some of the Pendergrasses' nine children also settled in this area. A leader in this frontier community, Pendergrass helped to establish several churches and a school, as well as this cemetery. The first interment here was in 1883, when Pendergrass offered a plot of his land for the burial of a stranger whose body was found nearby. Soon afterward, he moved graves of two of his grandchildren, Hilliard Pendergrass and Pearly Cook, to this site from a tract of land he had sold. In 1888 he deeded the one-acre cemetery to the community. Emaline Pendergrass donated another acre shortly after her husband's death in 1898. The 525 graves now (1975) here include those of Pendergrass, his wife, and many of their descendants. The Pendergrass Cemetery Association, formed as the result of a community beautification drive, fenced the site and erected gates in 1959. The well-maintained cemetery is still used for burials. (1975) |
