Details for Oak Dale Cemetery

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5143013203

Data

Marker Number 13203
Atlas Number 5143013203
Marker Title Oak Dale Cemetery
Index Entry Oak Dale Cemetery
Address
City Stephenville
County Erath
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 570817
UTM Northing 3572361
Subject Codes cemetery; settlements
Marker Year 2004
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location 5.1 mi. NW of Stephenville on SH 108
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size HTC marker
Marker Text Founders of Oak Dale community began arriving in 1867. They included: John R. Pickard; George Lidia, who became Pickard's son-in-law; the Rev. James M. Johnson, a Methodist minister; and William Jasper Mefferd. These men and their families, including Johnson's four sons, harvested timber along the Bosque River to build cabins and began farming the land. Samuel Johnson chose Oak Dale as the settlement's name for the abundance of the trees in the area. By 1868, the wives of both John Pickard and James Johnson were interred here on Pickard's land; the graves are now unmarked. The first marked burial is that of two-day-old Ruth Ann Johnson (d. 1877). Local residents established Oak Dale School, which consolidated with Stephenville in 1951. There were also a Baptist church and a Methodist church until the mid-20th century, when they likewise moved to the county seat. Today, Oak Dale Cemetery is a link to the early settlement, which began to decline in population during the Great Depression and World War II. It is the final resting place of generations of area residents, including military veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004