| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Residents of Smith County are gathering at Mason |
|
|
Cemetery on June 4, 2023, for the dedication of an Official Texas |
|
|
Historical Marker from the Texas Historical Commission; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 2019, the commission named the burial ground a |
|
|
Historic Texas Cemetery; further documentation was provided to the |
|
|
commission, including photographs, maps, research, and written |
|
|
documented accounts, in order to qualify for this even more |
|
|
prestigious designation affirming the graveyard's significance in |
|
|
Texas history; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The cemetery was established by early pioneers who |
|
|
settled in southeastern Smith County, and the oldest recorded |
|
|
headstone dates back to 1855; it served the community known as |
|
|
Canton, then Omen, and in modern times, Arp; through the years, it |
|
|
has expanded to make room for 1,800 marked graves; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Among those buried in the cemetery in the 19th |
|
|
century are some members of the extended Mason family, as well as |
|
|
Civil War veterans; the tombstones also reflect associations with |
|
|
the Woodmen of the World, the Masons, and the Order of the Eastern |
|
|
Star; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, For more than 150 years, Mason Cemetery has served |
|
|
as a final resting place for the tenacious men and women who braved |
|
|
many hardships to forge a community, and this marker is a fitting |
|
|
tribute to the perseverance of those early settlers as well as to |
|
|
the contributions of all those who are interred there; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature |
|
|
hereby commemorate the dedication of the Official Texas Historical |
|
|
Marker for Mason Cemetery and commend all those involved in |
|
|
securing this recognition. |