Old Shady Grove Cemetery(B)

Panola Co. Cemeteries of TX

Surveyed by Gloria B. Mayfield and Marylee W. Knight 10-14-98

Submitted by Gloria B. Mayfield Panola County Coordinator

Directions: From Carthage go westbound on State Highway 315 for 13.2 miles to the intersection with FM 348 on the right. Turn right on to FM 348 and proceed northbound for 1.2 miles. Turn right on to Panola County Road 155 and proceed eastbound for 1.6 miles. This cemetery will be on the left side of the road with a large opening on the east side of the cemetery where Shady Grove Church once stood. No sign of the church remains.

Old Shady Grove Cemetery is open on the east side but nestled in a stand of trees on the other three sides. The oldest marked graves are in the center of the cemetery. These graves are for Chania Gates (1842-1914) Clara Adams (Only date Oct 8 1844 possibly her birth date) and Margaret Laret (Only date Oct 28 1858 possibly her birth date). The newer graves lie along the edges of the cemetery particularly pocketed in the extreme four corners leading one to believe that there is a large number of old unmarked graves in the center portion. A total of 34 unmarked graves were tallied in this survey but the ground in the cemetery is very rough and many more graves could be disguised by the rugged contours of the terrain. Regrettably a large number of the marked graves have only a funeral home marker that time and the elements have wiped clean of all traces of identity and even the name of the funeral home. There is also a large number marked by broken chunks of different colored granite polished on one side. The tombstone of Ozell Wilson appears to be rather old and possibly was broken from its original base and is now mounted on the front of a square column of red brick approximately three feet tall.

It is obvious that this cemetery is treasured by the families of those buried there. The grass outside the cemetery is very high but the cemetery had been recently mowed and showed signs of constant maintenance. Many of the graves were decorated with artificial flowers. This was even true of some of the unmarked graves indicating that someone knows who is buried there and efforts will be made to obtain documentation on those graves. One grave marked only with an illegible funeral home marker had a large cape jasmine bush planted on it that had continued to grow and thrive even during the last few years of drought.