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Located five miles north of Harleton, Piney Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Harrison County. The site has several large oak and cedar trees, some over 100 years old. The entrance to Piney Cemetery is lined with a large iron arched sign and a chain fence. The burial site originated in the 1800s with its oldest grave dated to 1861. Carolin Oney Ragon was the first burial known today in the cemetery complete with a rock tombstone hewed from natural stone. Piney Cemetery became an organization in 1967. Its founding members were President E.L. Craver and Secretary and Treasurer Laurel Hicks. At the end of the 19th century there was a school and a church on top of the hill where the cemetery pavilion is now located. In 1889, Piney School and Piney Church moved to the bottom of the hill to be nearer to the natural water spring. In 1890, a church named Harmony was built on top of the cemetery hill but was closed in 1905. Designated Historic Texas Cemetery in 2014. Piney Cemetery has been associated with several names: Bear Bottom, Harmony, Lancaster, Pineridge, and Equality. Piney Cemetery holds 250 marked graves and around 20 unmarked graves. The unmarked graves date back to 1905 when a wagon train was struck by a case of small pox that killed many of the travelers. Their doctor, J.F. Mattox, is buried at Piney Cemetery. In the 1930s and 1940s the community of Harleton would meet at the cemetery with bag lunches to clean the grounds. This tradition, called the Piney Cemetery annual meeting, is an opportunity for the community to honor their ancestors. Designated as Historic Texas Cemetery in 2014. |
