Located at the
Rice
Cemetery,
1.4 miles NE of
Rice TX
Rice
Cemetery
The Rice community was
settled during the late 1860s and was named for William Marsh Rice who
donated land for the town's railroad station and later founded Rice
University. In 1868 the citizens of the community were granted land for
a cemetery by the trustees of the William M. Rice interests originally
located about one & one-half mil south, the Rice Cemetery was
removed to this site during the 1870s.
The three original
cemetery trustees, William D. Haynie, John A. Clopton, and Isaac B.
Sessions, are buried in the oldest northern section of the grave yard.
That section also contains many burial sites that are marked only with
small rock fragments or similar material. Rice Cemetery contains marked
graves of numerous war veterans including that of Joseph Calloway
Bartlett, a veteran of the Texas war for independence. In addition, four
participants in the Civil War, two
Spanish-American War veterans, and
numerous World War I and II
veterans are also interred here. Tombstones
reflect the high infant mortality rate of the 1880s and early 20th
century flu epidemic. A good example of a pioneer grave yard, the Rice
Cemetery is an important part of Navarro County's record in history.
(1985)
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