Near Rising Star in Eastland County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Pioneer Cemetery

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

1. Pioneer Cemetery Marker

Inscription. Tradition holds that Captain A.M. Curry suggested the name for the Pioneer community, established in 1883. Bill Smith became its first postmaster in 1885. The burial here of Mrs. S.A. Briggs (believed to be Catherine P. Owsley Briggs) in 1879, however, predates the community development. Landowners William L. and Mary Ann (Hampton) Browning formally deeded the site in 1906 for use as a burial ground for the largely agricultural settlement. An oil boom in the 1920s brought thousands of new residents. By the 1940s, oil production waned, and the railroad, as well as the majority of settlers and businesses, left the area.
Over the years, additional land donations have enlarged the cemetery. Pioneer Quilting Club members served as long-time caretakers, raising funds for cleaning and for a war memorial placed in 1948 to commemorate area soldiers killed in World Wars I and II. Among the others buried here is Catherine Martin O’Neal Lovett, a Cherokee survivor of the Trail of Tears March of 1838. Today, an association maintains the burial ground, which is a link to the early settlement of Pioneer.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004

Erected 2004 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 13426.)

Location. 32°

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

2. Pioneer Cemetery Marker

Located at the eastern entrance to Pioneer Cemetery

5.983′ N, 99° 4.982′ W. Marker is near Rising Star, Texas, in Eastland County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of State Highway 36 and County Road 247, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is located at the eastern entrance to Pioneer Cemetery. Marker is in this post office area: Rising Star TX 76471, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Pioneer Cemetery War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Cross Plains Cemetery (approx. 5.4 miles away); The Home of Robert E. Howard (approx. 5.4 miles away); Fort Mason-Camp Cooper Military Road (approx. 5.7 miles away); Rising Star Area Veterans Memorial (approx. 6½ miles away); Rising Star (approx. 6½ miles away); First United Methodist Church of Rising Star (approx. 6.8 miles away); Old Cottonwood Cemetery (approx. 10 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rising Star.

Also see . . .
1. Pioneer, TX. From the Texas State Historical Association’s “Handbook of Texas Online”. (Submitted on December 28, 2014.)

2. Catherine "O'Neal" Martin Lovett. Includes headstone biography and photographs from the findagrave.com website. (Submitted on December 28, 2014.)

Categories. • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers •

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

3. Pioneer Cemetery Marker

View to southwest from State Highway 36

View to West from Marker Location image. Click for full size.

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

4. View to West from Marker Location

View to East from State Highway 36 image. Click for full size.

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

5. View to East from State Highway 36

View to North from Pioneer Cemetery War Memorial image. Click for full size.

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

6. View to North from Pioneer Cemetery War Memorial

Pioneer Cemetery image. Click for full size.

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

7. Pioneer Cemetery

View to east

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

8. Pioneer Cemetery

View to southwest

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

9. Pioneer Cemetery

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

10. Pioneer Cemetery

Grave Site of Catherine Martin O'Neal Lovett image. Click for full size.

By Duane Hall, December 25, 2014

11. Grave Site of Catherine Martin O'Neal Lovett

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on December 28, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 319 times since then and 65 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on December 28, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.