Forest Academy Cemetery

This cemetery was not formally set aside until 1858. But the land probably was used as a burial ground prior to that time. Settlement of the area began in 1847 when Thomas Madison and Elizabeth (Fanning) Ticer brought their family here. Thomas Ticer died one year later, but there is no record of his burial in the county. His wife was interred in this graveyard in 1879. The first known marked grave in Forest Academy Cemetery is that of Martha McCorkle, who died in 1858. In the same year, Winship S. Petty (1804-1881) bought 865.5 acres of land in Hopkins County. Since this burial ground was a part of that acreage, he donated it to the Forest Academy community and increased the area of the cemetery to six acres. Petty later supplied the lumber from his sawmill in Angelina County to build the first community church and school building. Petty is interred here in an unmarked site. By 1910 the families who lived in this area had moved, leaving only the Methodist Church building and this cemetery as reminders of this early agricultural settlement. The burial ground was vandalized in 1971, which destroyed many of the old grave markers. It continues to stand, however, as an important element in the region's heritage.

Forest Academy Cemetery is a historical marker in Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County, dedicated in 1984. It is one of 34 historical markers documented in Hopkins County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 75 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.0779, -95.4974 near Sulphur Springs. The nearest cataloged historic site is Como (cemetery), about 2.0 miles away. Others within a short drive include Greenpond, Martin Springs, and Richland Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5223007310. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.