BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MORRIS PROVIDED LAND FOR RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY AND A 100-ACRE TOWNSHIP SITE FOR JOAQUIN IN THE 1880s. IN 1890, MORRIS DONATED ONE ACRE AT THIS SITE TO ESTABLISH JOAQUIN MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH. ON OCTOBER 24, 1894, WHEN ALLIE M. WHIDDON DIED AT AGE EIGHTEEN, VIOLA “OLA” WHIDDON RUSHING DONATED LAND ADJOINING THE CHURCH IN MEMORY OF HER YOUNG SISTER TO ESTABLISH JOAQUIN CEMETERY. ADDITIONAL EARLY BURIALS INCLUDE B. F. MORRIS’ GRANDSON AND TOWN NAMESAKE, JOAQUIN MORRIS (1898), JAMES W. TAYLOR (1897), WESLEY A. SMITH (1897), IMA SOJOURNER (1898), WILLIAM TAYLOR (1898), BERTIE TRUITT (1899), AND ALMER WOOD (1899). A SURVEY RECORDED MORE THAN 800 GRAVES AND IDENTIFIED TWELVE CIVIL WAR VETERANS. JESSIE AVERY FERGUSON (1859-1943), FIRST MAYOR OF JOAQUIN AND ONE OF THE FIRST SCHOOLTEACHERS, IS BURIED HERE, AS ARE TWO VICTIMS OF THE NEW LONDON SCHOOL EXPLOSION (1937). OTHER NOTABLE GRAVES INCLUDE PHYSICIANS DR. WILLIAM ALLEN RAMSEY (1880-1962) AND DR. EDGAR RUSHING (1877-1943) AND PHARMACIST EDWARD LEWIS RAMSEY (1875-1947). MANY EARLY SETTLERS, POSTMASTERS, BUSINESS AND CIVIC LEADERS ARE BURIED HERE. THE LAND WAS FORMALLY DEEDED IN 1954 BY VIOLA RUSHING’S SON, DR. E. O. RUSHING, TO THE CHURCH. A CEMETERY ASSOCIATION FORMED IN THE 1960s, AND CONTINUES TO HOLD AN ANNUAL HOMECOMING ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN JUNE. THE GRAVES OF B. F. MORRIS (1827-1900) AND HIS WIFE, JANE (1829-1883), WERE MOVED HERE FROM MORRIS CEMETERY ON GRAVEYARD HILL IN 1994 BECAUSE OF LACK OF PERPETUAL CARE AND DIFFICULTY OF ACCESS. PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE CEMETERY INCLUDE EAST-FACING GRAVES, FAMILY PLOTS, A LARGE CONCRETE CRYPT, STATELY MARBLE WOODMEN OF THE WORLD MARKERS, AND GRAVESTONES OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO WERE CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. THIS HISTORIC SITE CONTINUES TO SERVE THE BURIAL NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
Joaquin Cemetery
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Joaquin Cemetery is a historical marker in Joaquin, Shelby County, dedicated in 2013. It is one of 35 historical markers documented in Shelby County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 124 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 31.9693, -94.0590 near Joaquin. The nearest cataloged historic site is Morris, B. F. (historical marker), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Jackson, Brookland Cemetery, and Fellowship Baptist Church.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507017613. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Get Texas Roam — all 28,000 sites in your pocket
See this site and every marker, cemetery, courthouse, museum and landmark across Texas on one live map — find what's near you, get directions, and check in as you roam.
