BACCUS CEMETERY - PLANO
Bishop Road at Legacy Drive
Latitude 33.079N
Longitude 96.821W
BACCUS CEMETERY: COUNTY HISTORY
SURROUNDED BY TECHNOLOGICAL PARK
By Ronney McKee Staff Writer.
Amid the rapid development of legacy Office
Park is a piece of Collin County history, known as Baccus Cemetery.
Situated five miles south of Frisco and one
mile south of state Highway 121, on Bishop at legacy, the cemetery is a part of
a farm homestead built in 1845 by Lt. Henry Cook (1775 - 1865), a veteran of the
War of 1812. Cook moved from Illinois to what was then known as Peter's Colony.
In 1847, Cook needed a cemetery in which to
bury his son, Daniel, who was born in 1831. so he set aside a section of his
640-acre farm as a cemetery.
Today, Daniel Cook's grave is believed to be
the oldest marked grave in Collin County, said Frisco resident Charles Pearson,
a Great-great-grandson of Henry Cook.
The cemetery took the name Baccus after one of
Cook's daughters, Rachel Cook Baccus, inherited the portion of land containing
the Cemetery. In 1878, she deeded the land to the heirs of Henry Cook for church
and cemetery purposes. The cemetery was named Baccus Cemetery around 1915 in
honor of Rachel Baccus' gift.
The cemetery was granted historical landmark
status in 1980. The marker indicates the Baccus Christian Church sanctuary was
constructed on land adjoining the cemetery around 1908, but was disbanded in the
1930's. Pearson said the church was situated on the south side of the cemetery,
where Legacy Drive is now situated, just north of Electronic Data Systems Corp.
Today, the cemetery is maintained by an
association that operates on gifts from family and friends.
A tour through the well-manicured cemetery
reveals names prominent in Plano and Peter's Colony history. Many of the people
buried there are descendants of Henry Cook. The names include: Cook, Baccus,
Heustis, Martin, Dudley, Bishop, Pearson, and Miller.
In 1979, when Pearson buried his daughter,
Libby Louise Pearson, the land surrounding the Baccus Cemetery was still
farmland. But soon, Dallas businessman H. Ross Perot began purchasing the land
to develop it into Legacy Office Park, home of Electronic Data Systems Corp.,
Frito Lay Inc., Southland Life Insurance Co. and the future headquarters for J.
C. Penney Co. Inc.
Burials still take place at the small
cemetery. Probably the most recent burial was that of 95-year-old Lena Bishop
Pearson, Charles Pearson's mother, who died in January. It won't be the last
burial at the cemetery, though. Pearson said both he and his wife plan to be
buried there.
With all the land development surrounding it
and all the corporations moving in, Pearson is proud of this family's legacy,
which remains alive in the history recorded on grave markers throughout the
Baccus Cemetery.
Historical marker, 1980.
BACCUS CEMETERY
HENRY COOK (1775-1862), A VETERAN
OF THE WAR OF 1812,
SETTLED HERE
IN 1845 AS A MEMBER OF THE
PETERS COLONY. HIS LOG HOUSE
LOCATED
NEARBY, WAS A LAND MARK
ON THE SHAWNEE TRAIL. HE FIRST
USED THIS PROPERTY AS A
FAMILY
CEMETERY IN 1847 FOR THE BURIAL
OF HIS SON DANIEL (B. 1831). HIS
DAUGHTER
RACHEL COOK BACCUS
DEEDED THE BURIAL GROUND TO HIS
HEIRS IN 1878. SHE LATER
DONATED
ADJOINING LAND FOR CONSTRUCTION
OF THE BACCUS CHRISTIAN CHURCH
SANCTUARY. THE CEMETERY, NAMED
IN HER HONOR ABOUT 1915, IS STILL
IN USE. THE
CHURCH WAS DISBANDED
IN THE 1930S.
CEMETERY
INDEX
- Recommended citation:
- Baccus Cemetery - Plano,"CEMETERIES OF COLLIN COUNTY."
Collin County, Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of
Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
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