Steep Hollow Cemetery

Steep Hollow Cemetery. . This burial ground was part of the Steep Hollow community, named for the valley of the Steep Hollow Branch, a tributary of Wickson Creek. Residents were ranchers and farmers, and the community had a general store, cotton gin, gristmill and schoolhouse. Saints Rest Baptist Church (later Steep Hollow Baptist Church), organized in 1873, was associated with the cemetery, which first served as a private family burial ground. In 1874, Charles and Evaline Peters conveyed property for the cemetery and surrounding land to the church. , The earliest interments were those of James Peters (d. 1870), son of Charles and Evaline, and Robert Martin (d. 1871), son of Sarah Ann (Cheshire) and Rev. Samuel Crawford Martin (d. 1902), the first pastor of Saints Rest Baptist Church. The Martins are also buried here with four other ministers of the church. Other burials include teachers, businessmen, farmers, ranchers and veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War. The cemetery is located in a naturalistic setting and features curbing, interior fencing, vertical stones, obelisks, and Woodmen of the World grave markers. , In its early years, family members cared for the grounds. By 1926, the Steep Hollow Cemetery Association (SHCA) had formed to maintain the cemetery. In 1966, the church officially transferred ownership of the burial ground to the SHCA. Today, Steep Hollow Cemetery continues to serve the area and persists as a reminder of the pioneering men and women whose hard work and sacrifice contributed to the establishment of the steep hollow community.