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According to tradition, a small group of Nacogdoches-area Methodists came together before 1860 to organize a church, which they named Pine Grove. In the late 1870s, congregation members moved their small log building to a site in front of this cemetery. A.J. Muckleroy, in 1878, had donated two acres of land to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. When the Pine Grove Church moved to the Muckleroy land, the congregation changed its name to Fairview Church. The earliest marked grave at the Fairview Church Cemetery is that of Elijah Muckleroy and dates to 1851, although earlier graves may exist. For decades, families of those buried in the graveyard maintained the grounds and grave sites. In 1941, the families established an annual homecoming Sunday, and by 1964 the Fairview Cemetery Association had organized to oversee care of the cemetery. Today, encompassing approximately 12 acres and more than 1,500 marked graves, the cemetery features stone cairns and curbed plots. It serves as a link to the early rural community and the history of its settlement. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003 |
