| Marker Number |
394 |
| Atlas Number |
5367000394 |
| Marker Title |
Bethesda Cemetery |
| Index Entry |
Bethesda Cemetery |
| Address |
FM 113, off US 180 about 17 mi. from Weatherford |
| City |
Bethesda |
| County |
Parker |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
595501 |
| UTM Northing |
3639257 |
| Subject Codes |
cemetery; churches; Methodist (Methodist Episcopal and United Methodist) denomination; educational topics |
| Marker Year |
1978 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
From Weatherford, take US 180 west about 10.5 miles, turn north on FM 113 and continue about 7 miles to cemetery. |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
18" x 28" |
| Marker Text |
Settlers in the 1860s called this area Dry Creek but renamed it Bethesda Community in 1876 after they built a schoolhouse used for Methodist worship. John G. Leach (1846-1930) and John Marshall Coalson (1826-1897) gave land near the school for a cemetery in 1877 when Leach's daughter Minnie E. (1872-1961) seemed near death with diphtheria. She recovered and the earliest marked grave is that of Charlie A. Walker (1879-1880). Childhood mortality accounts for many graves in the older part of the cemetery. Descendants of pioneer families donated land in 1973 to enlarge the site to five acres. (1978) |
