Lindale in Smith County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Bethesda Presbyterian Church and Cemetery

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, March 29, 2026

1. Bethesda Presbyterian Church and Cemetery Marker

Inscription. In 1879 William Lee Henderson (b. 1808), his wife Eleanor Shelby (b. 1817) and their nine children moved from their Alabama home to Texas by wagon train. Church records indicate worship services were held in a shelter built by the Hendersons shortly after they settled here.
At the Henderson's request the East Texas Presbytery officially recognized the new congregation as the Lindale Presbyterian Church in March 1881. Its name was changed to Bethesda in 1885, for a church the Hendersons had established in Perry County, Alabama.
William's son, Franklin Smith Henderson, was buried here on family land in 1881. Other interments near Franklin's grave site, including that of his father William in 1883, formed the nucleus of this cemetery, which from its beginning has been a community burial place. A cemetery association was organized in 1905.
Among those buried here are the veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.
The congregation erected a new sanctuary at this site in 1895 which was enlarged in 1959. Descendants of the original Henderson Family and of other area pioneers buried in the cemetery have gathered here each summer for many decades for a reunion and other religious and social activities.

Erected 1994 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number

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7706.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1881.

Location. 32° 32.85′ N, 95° 21.616′ W. Marker is in Lindale, Texas, in Smith County. It is at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2710 and County Route 4126, on the left on Route 2710. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lindale TX 75771, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

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 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sabine Methodist Church (approx. 2.1 miles away); Damascus Baptist Church (approx. 2.3 miles away); Whisenhunt-Kinzie House (approx. 3.7 miles away); Duck Creek Soil Erosion Project (approx. 5.7 miles away); Site of Flora (approx. 5.9 miles away); Smith Chapel United Methodist Church (approx. 6.1 miles away); Antioch Baptist Church (approx. 6.1 miles away); Milburn-Gary House (approx. 6.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lindale.

Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Cemetery and marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, March 29, 2026

2. Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Cemetery and marker

Photographed by Steve Henderson, March 14, 2010

3. Bethesda Presbyterian Church and Cemetery Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on April 2, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 22, 2010, by Steve Henderson of Marble Falls, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,767 times since then and 70 times this year. Last updated on April 1, 2026, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 30, 2026, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. 3. submitted on August 22, 2010, by Steve Henderson of Marble Falls, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.