Fate in Rockwall County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Mount Zion Cemetery

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, August 31, 2024

1. Mount Zion Cemetery Marker

Inscription. John Dewees (1819-1893) and his wife Martha Jane Stevens Dewees (1824-1905) migrated to Texas from Indiana in 1856 with their family of seven children. They purchased 300 acres of land on the banks of Camp Creek nearby.

In 1857 a community church was organized and named Mount Zion. A log structure, built on land donated by John and Martha Dewees, served as a church and schoolhouse. The community cemetery was established in 1859 with the death of Julia McCrearby. A community also known as Mount Zion grew up around the church/school and cemetery.

Of the more than 628 graves, about 590 are marked. Buried here are veterans from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean conflict. Nearly one-fifth of the graves are those of infants under one year of age. John and Martha Dewees and six of their seven children are buried here, as is county official A. R. Hartman (1839-1917).

The Mount Zion Cemetery Association was formally organized in 1988 to establish a permanent fund for maintaining the grounds. The site continues to serve the community as it has for more than a century.

Erected 1997 by Texas

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Historical Commission. (Marker Number 6146.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites.

Location. 32° 58.012′ N, 96° 24.783′ W. Marker is in Fate, Texas, in Rockwall County. It is on Farm to Market Road 552 0.1 miles east of Farm to Market Road 3549. The marker is located 1.8 miles north of Fate on SH 66, then 2.3 miles West on FM 552 to cemetery on south side of road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rockwall TX 75087, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region

and in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Millwood and Millwood Cemetery

Mount Zion Cemetery and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, August 31, 2024

2. Mount Zion Cemetery and Marker

(approx. 2 miles away); Fate Lodge No. 802, A.F. & A.M. (approx. 2.6 miles away); Fate Prebyterian Church (approx. 2.6 miles away); The Church of Christ in Rockwall (approx. 2.7 miles away); Mt. Pleasant Hill Cemetery (approx. 3.7 miles away); Rockwall County (approx. 3.7 miles away); a different marker also named Rockwall County (approx. 3.7 miles away); East Trinity Lodge No. 157, A.F. & A.M. (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fate.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 1, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 31, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 343 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 31, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.