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Submitted: 9/15/14 • Approved: 10/10/14 • Last Updated: 3/25/18 • R20989-G0-S3
Deep in the woods, about five miles north of Kennard, on Forest Service Road 513, is Old Zion Cemetery. The remnants of Old Zion Baptist Church and the nearby communities of Tadmor and Harrisontown are the roots of this old, but still active cemetery. Stories have been told that James McCelvey, who lived on the upper reaches of Hickory Creek, buried his slaves here. Others say descendants of Francis B Conner donated the land. In the winter of 1868, snow lay on the ground when William Daughtery Harrison died. The family was unable to bury him in Corinth Cemetery, so he was laid to rest in Old Zion. It was said only blacks and Indians had been buried in Old Zion before William D Harrison became the first white man buried there. Many of the earliest graves are marked by cedar trees or petrified wood stones with no information on them. Numerous graves are unmarked. One whole section of the cemetery in the northwest section of the cemetery is said to contain numerous graves.
The old Church burned in the early 1900's. Today, the cemetery is fenced, and well-cared for, by a committee who solicit funds for its care, and who provide for the business of the cemetery in the Annual Meeting the last Sunday in April.
Source: Source: from the book "Houston County (Texas) Cemeteries" (Third Edition), compiled by the Houston County Historical Commission, published 1987
Contributed on 9/15/14 by hochfive1968
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Record #: 20989