Providence Cemetery

Providence Cemetery. . Established in 1845, Providence Cemetery served as a burial ground for the congregation of Providence Primitive Baptist Church. The church was organized in 1842 by William J. Caudle and his wife, Sarah Daffern Caudle. In the 1840s, churches provided both spiritual and social interaction. They also provided law and order in their own congregations. Church on Sunday even saw "trials" using the congregation as judge and jury. Churches' dinner-on-the-ground, which provided a day of escape from a hard life, was an eagerly anticipated social event. Churches were scarce at the time, so preachers were circuit riders serving four or more churches. Much of the cemetery was established from donated lands. The first recorded donors were William J. and Sarah Caudle and T.M. and Harriet Harton in 1871. , There are estimated to be over 1,400 graves in this cemetery, though there is no way to know exactly. Many people used petrified wood, colorful glass bottles or other items for markers. Weather and time have washed away many of these markers. Other gravestone materials found in this cemetery consist of granite, cast iron, funeral company marker, limestone, marble and Italian ground marble resin. Concrete curbing was used in the earlier years to mark graves. Cemetery features include benches, a flagpole, handcrafted local castings, obelisks, a bronze plaque and an angel statue. Black wrought iron fencing covers the south side with an east and west gate both with red brick pillars and black cast iron floral gates created by a local welder craftsman. Many veteran gravestones may be found at Providence Cemetery. , Historic Texas Cemetery - 2016.