WOODLAWN CEMETERY - NEW HOPE
FM2933
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy
Gough
This was once
part of the community of Rock Rest. There was a school and a Cumberland
Presbyterian church by that name. The cemetery is sometimes called Rock Rest
after the community. Part of the cemetery was once the burial ground for the
church.
The area was
also called Woodlawn. The Noyes family owned the land at one time, and said the
name of the cemetery was Noyes Cemetery. However, the deeds for the cemetery,
listed in Vol 16, p 403, and Vol. 17, p 565, state that the name of the cemetery
shall be Woodlawn. The Lower Bonham Road, which was also called Woodlawn Road,
went by the cemetery.
This is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the county with lovely trees and
open grassy areas.. It covers about 4 ½ acres. There is a creek around 2 sides
named Dripping Springs Creek. The graves tend to be in clusters under trees.
There is a small area fenced with wrought-iron near the entrance with 3 or 4
graves.
There is only
one Noyes buried here - Anne Belle. Her grave is covered with concrete, and her
name is crudely scratched onto the surface.
The cemetery has
a historical marker. It was dedicated in honor of someone buried in the
cemetery, and is engraved on the back. The historical marker application says
there are over 200 people buried here. COLLIN COUNTY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS I
lists about 130. I do not know if the cemetery is active. The last burial I know
of was in 1968. There is plenty of empty space.
The driveway and road across the pasture are actually the cemetery access. The
driveway for the farm house did not originally connect with the access road. The
driveway for the house starts at the circular driveway At the time of my visits,
the farmer had several large dogs that chased cars. The dogs did not follow the
car all the way to the cemetery. Occasionally the farmer tries to cause a little
trouble about allowing access. However, on all of my visits to the cemetery, I
saw no one.
The cemetery is very well maintained. There is supposed to be a cemetery
association, but I do not think that it is active.
The first Collin
County soldier to die in World War I, Jimmie Geigas, is buried here. For his
funeral, soldiers marched from McKinney to the cemetery following his coffin,
about 5 miles.
Historical
marker, 1984.
WOODLAWN
CEMETERY
THIS CEMETERY,
LOCATED ALONG THE
HISTORIC LOWER
BONHAM ROAD ON THE
SITE OF THE
OLD ROCK REST CHURCH
AND SCHOOL,
WAS FIRST USED DURING
THE 1870s. THE
TWO AND ONE-HALF
ACRE PLOT WAS
DEEDED TO CEME-
TERY TRUSTEES
GEORGE A. WILSON,
WILLIAM W.
WALLACE, AND T. C. BOONE
IN 1882.
WOODLAWN CEMETERY IS
THE BURIAL
PLACE FOR MANY COLLIN
COUNTY
PIONEERS. JIMMIE GEIGAS, THE
FIRST SOLDIER
FROM McKINNEY KILLED
IN WORLD WAR
I, ALSO IS BURIED HERE.
WITH MOST OF
THE GRAVES DATING
BEFORE 1900,
WOODLAWN REMAINS A
SIGNIFICANT
EXAMPLE OF A PIONEER
CEMETERY.
Incised on
back: GIVEN IN
MEMORY OF MARY KLAPPER BENTON, DAUGHTER OF
PHILIP AND MARY KLAPPER, BY HER GREAT
NIECES LOIS HEAD AND BIRDIE
MOORHEAD.
CEMETERY INDEX
Recommended
citation:
Woodlawn
Cemetery - New Hope,
"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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