Forest Hill Cemetery

By 1905, all the lots in Livingston's Old City Cemetery had been filled, and community leaders began looking for a new cemetery site. Residents established Forest Hill Cemetery Association in 1906 and bought land from James and Arabella Henington on a hill south of the downtown area. In November 1906, Arthur B. Garner was the first to be buried in the new cemetery. Community women formed the Ladies Cemetery Association of Livingston in May 1908; their purpose was to improve, beautify and preserve the city's two cemeteries. In the 1930s, Marion Tew took charge of maintaining Forest Hill Cemetery, and under her leadership the grounds were beautified and Washington Avenue, which leads to the graveyard, was the first street in Livingston to be paved. Forest Hill Cemetery is a link to Livingston's history. Gravestones indicate the burials of thirty Confederate soldiers and one Union soldier, as well as veterans of subsequent American military actions. Noted individuals buried here include A.H. Bailey, of Mollie Bailey's Circus, George Ely, a traveling circus entertainer, and acclaimed theatre director Margaret "Margo" Jones.

Forest Hill Cemetery is a historical marker in Livingston, Polk County, dedicated in 2003. It is one of 50 historical markers documented in Polk County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 138 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.6941, -94.9321 near Livingston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Margaret V. "Margo" Jones (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include McCaghren Cemetery, R.A. McCaghren Cemetery, and Nettles, G. G., Home.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016215. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.