THOMPSON CEMETERY - LAVON
SH78
33.057N
96.422W
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy
Gough
This cemetery is
about ¼ mile northeast of Mallard Park and the Abston Cemetery. Abner Thompson
gave a portion of his land for the cemetery and became its first burial in 1852.
He is buried in the eastern part with his grave marked by two large square
stones, one at the head and one at the foot. Each stone is about 3 inches thick.
In 1862 Miles Graves gave 1.1 acres of land to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church with
the deed recorded in Vol 15, p 308. At one time Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church was
on the south bank of Price Creek. The church divided in 1882 with part of the
membership going to Copeville and part to South Church, south of Nevada. When
the church disbanded, the Graves Family Cemetery, which was adjacent to the
Thompson Cemetery, became part of the Thompson Cemetery.
Price Creek here looks like part of Lake Lavon. When Lake Lavon backs up into
the creeks, part of the cemetery is under water. When Lake Lavon was built, the
Corps of Engineers raised the southwest, southeast and northeast corners of the
cemetery 6 feet and leveled the rest of the cemetery. In recent years, the
Sheriff's Department has had to get after fishermen, who drove through the
cemetery and across graves to get to Price Creek. Indian artifacts have been
found on the northern side of the cemetery.
This is a large cemetery, covering several acres. There are over 800 graves
here. The entrance has granite markers that say,"Thompson Cemetery, established
1852, Your love will light my way," and, "Memorial Entrance, erected 1962, Your
memory will ever be with us." There is a large tabernacle near the entrance. The
cemetery has a historical marker. It is directly across Price/George Creek from
the Bear Creek Cemetery and diagonally across the Price Creek from the Abston
Cemetery. Price and George Creeks combine at this point.
This cemetery has a cemetery association. They hold a decoration day every year.
The cemetery is very well maintained and is still active.
Historical
marker, 1983.
THOMPSON
CEMETERY
COLLIN COUNTY
PIONEER ABNER THOMPSON CAME TO
THIS AREA
ABOUT 1850 AND SETTLED ON LAND THAT WAS
ORIGINALLY
PART OF THE SILVESTER WILLIAMS SURVEY,
DEEDING A
PORTION OF OT TO BE USED AS A CEMETERY.
THE FIRST
BURIAL, THAT OF THOMPSON HIMSELF, TOOK PLACE
IN 1852. HIS
GRAVE IS MARKED WITH TWO LARGE SQUARE
STONES WHICH
HAVE DETERIORATED THROUGH TIME AND
HAVE BECOME
NEARLY ILLEGIBLE. TALL POSTS OF BOIS d'ARC,
WHICH MARK THE
NEARBY GRAVE ON ONE OF THOMPSON'S
EMPLOYEES,
HAVE STOOD THE EFFECTS OF WEATHERING
FOR MORE THAN
ONE HUNDRED YEARS.
ALSO BURIED
HERE ARE MILES AND EMILY J. GRAVES
WHO, IN 1862,
DONATED OVER AN ACRE OF LAND TO THE
MOUNT PLEASANT
BAPTIST CHURCH, WHICH WAS ORGANIZED
FIVE YEARS
EARLIER. WHEN THE CONGREGATION DIVIDED IN
THE EARLY
1880s, THAT LAND WAS GIVEN TO THE THOMPSON
CEMETERY,
WHICH WAS ENLARGED SEVERAL MORE TIMES
IN LATER
YEARS.
A MEMORIAL DAY
SERVICE HAS BEEN HELD AT THE
THOMPSON
CEMETERY EACH YEAR SINCE THE EARLY 1950s,
BRINGING
TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM THE NEARBY COMMUNITIES
OF LAVON AND
COPEVILLE. THERE ARE OVER 800 GRAVES
HERE WHICH ARE
GIVEN PERPETUAL CARE BY THE THOMPSON
CEMETERY
ASOCIATION.
Thompson
CEMETERY INDEX
Recommended
citation:
Thompson
Cemetery - Lavon,
"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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