John Latta Log Cabin - Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park- Prairie Grove AR

Judy Cooper is my lovely niece who is retired in Nacogdoches TX with husband Jerry and my Big Sis Lois! She says:

Those of us in Nacogdoches will most likely stay here. Nacogdoches is interesting because it's the oldest town in Texas. Part of the El Camino Real is right here. When people came from the east to west this is the route they traveled as they migrated. The university here is Stephen F. Austin. The population is 30,000-40,000.  It's pretty much rural around here. Reminds me of North Carolina - lots of tall trees. Many are pine, but there's many varieties. The university has a great forestry department. We live in town, but Steve and Anna live outside of town with their families. Since it's a small town, what we need is pretty much available here. If bigger stores are needed, Tyler or Lufkin are larger. There's an old cemetery here where many of the settlers are buried, as well as some signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.  In the early days, the Caddo Indians were here. We have a place about an hour from here where there are burial mounds of those people. In town, there is a Mound Street which was named such because at some time there actually was an Indian burial mound. It's a lovely area, quieter than living in the Dallas area, and, mostly, family is very nearby and available for frequent visits. She adds: I've been told that Nacogdoches means "the place where people settle". Who knows?”  

The college kids refer to it as "Nac -a- nowhere"! Leave it to the young to cut to the quick about most anything that meets with their disapproval! J

Here are some places in and about Nacogdoches of interest:

Visit Steven F. Austin University website at: http://www.sfasu.edu/

Visit the Nacogdoches TX website at: https://www.ci.nacogdoches.tx.us/

Visit Mission Tejas State Park website at: http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/mission-tejas

Visit Boykin State Park at: http://www.casselsboykinpark.com/

Visit beautiful Caddo Lake State Park at: http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caddo-lake

Thanks Judy!

From Judy Cooper: “I went out to see Old North Church here in town and the cemetery. Look it up. It's very historic and interesting.”

The Old North Church in Historic Nacogdoches

The Old North Church, originally called Union Church because various religious denominations made up the congregation, was organized on May 6, 1838 and is the oldest active Missionary Baptist church in Texas. The founder of Old North Church, Mrs. Massey Sparks Millard, who came to Texas in 1832 and settled near the site of a spring where the church is now located, arranged for the Reverend Isaac Reed to preach the first Baptist sermon to a group of settlers beneath the shade of this ancient post-oak tree. Meeting in the first structure on the site, a one-room log house called the Liberty School House, (so named after the Texan victory at the Battle of San Jacinto), the Reverend Isaac Reed, the Elder R. G. Green, and a group of worshipers organized what is now the Old North Church.
The original building, a log structure, was built in 1838 and used until 1852
when the present church was erected on the original foundation stones. In 1933 the church was reoriented to face the historic oak tree. The Old North Church Cemetery, which is part of the original ten acres deeded by Dr. John M. Sparks to the Union Church in 1892, is a chronicle of the early days of Nacogdoches County. Veterans of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Texas Revolution, and some forty-seven Confederate Civil War soldiers are buried here. According to legend, the first burial in this cemetery was that of a young girl whose family, traveling through 
the area in a wagon train when she died, buried her here before continuing their westward journey."

The Old North Church Cemetery in Historic NacogdochesAccording to Legend, the first burial in this cemetery was that of a young girl, whose family, travelling through the area when she died, buried her here before continuing their westward journey. Oral tradition also suggests that William Whitaker was already interred in a brick vault by the time Richard Sparks set aside land on this site for use as a community graveyard in 1838. The Union Baptist Church (later Old North Church) was organized in the Spring of that year. The oldest marked grave is that of Saletha Easter Whitaker (d.1845). Dr. John M. Sparks and his wife formally deeded ten acres including the original five acres set aside by Richard Sparks to the Union Church in 1892.

The cemetery historically was divided into two sections. The East side was used for the burials of local slaves, many of whom were members of the church, and eventually became a separate cemetery.

Other burials of interest include those of veterans of the American Revolution,, the War of 1812, and the Texas Revolution. Records indicate that some forty-seven Confederate Civil War soldiers are buried in the Southern portion of the cemetery, and twenty-one Union Soldiers are interred in unmarked graves. Most of the Union veterans were victims of an epidemic of dysentery during the Reconstruction Era.

The Old North Church Cemetery Association was organized in 1976. With more than 950 graves in 1998, the graveyard continues to be used by descendants of early church members. The burial ground is a chronicle of the early days of Nacogdoches County. (Text from the Texas Historical Commission Plaque at the historical site.)

Thanks Judy!