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Near Ward Prairie in Freestone County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Lake Chapel Cemetery

 
 
Lake Chapel Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, May 5, 2025
1. Lake Chapel Cemetery Marker
Inscription. Pioneers Simeon and Nancy Lake and their seven children settled in this area in the mid-1850s. They built a home, cleared the land, and began farming.

The settlement which gradually built up around the Lake farm became known as Lake Chapel community after a small church was built on their property about 1856. Known as Lake Chapel Methodist Church, it was also used by other denominations in the area. A schoolhouse was also constructed nearby, and two acres of land were set aside for a community burial ground.

The earliest documented burial in the cemetery, is that of the infant daughter of W.L. and Laura Lake Thornton. A granddaughter of Simeon and Nancy Lake, the child died at the age of five days in 1874. The church and school buildings were later moved from the property, and the graveyard's size was increased over the years. Among those interred here are members of the Lake and other pioneer families, as well as veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The diverse styles of grave markers which can be seen in the cemetery reflect the social history of the area, offering a glimpse
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into the customs and traditions of the past.
 
Erected 1989 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 9888.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesEducationReligion & Religious StructuresSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1856.
 
Location. 31° 47.784′ N, 96° 8.442′ W. Marker is near Ward Prairie, Texas, in Freestone County. It is on Farm to Market Road 488 0.8 miles north of County Road 114. The marker is located at the east side of the cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 578 FM 488, Fairfield TX 75840, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region. 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 5 miles of
Supplemental Lake Chapel Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, May 5, 2025
2. Supplemental Lake Chapel Cemetery Marker
this marker, measured as the crow flies: Ward Prairie Baptist Church (approx. 2.1 miles away); Harmony Church (approx. 4.1 miles away); a different marker also named Harmony Church (approx. 4.1 miles away); Stewards Mill Store (approx. 4.2 miles away); Bradley House (approx. 4.6 miles away); First Methodist Church Bell (approx. 4.9 miles away); Carter Log House (approx. 4.9 miles away); Potter-Watson Log Cabin (approx. 4.9 miles away).
 
The view of the markers in the Lake Chapel Cemetery image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, May 5, 2025
3. The view of the markers in the Lake Chapel Cemetery
The view of the old entrance to the Lake Chapel Cemetery and Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, May 5, 2025
4. The view of the old entrance to the Lake Chapel Cemetery and Markers
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on May 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 6, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 121 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 7, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
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Jul. 14, 2026