Moss Hill Community Cemetery

To help recognize its African American heritage, Tyler County resident John Cruse donated two acres here in 1906 to the Moss Hill community for church and cemetery purposes. According to local tradition the cemetery was established in the early 1900s because of the rising number of deaths within the membership of Moss Hill's Baptist Church. Although evidence of several unmarked grave sites suggests prior burials, the first documented interment was that of Lane Siggers in 1907. Other early burials include those of Harriet Barlow in 1913, Ellis Gilder in 1916, Lottie Blackmon in 1917, Willie Blackmon in 1918, David Rigsby in 1922, J. C. McCartney in 1926, and Lizziebeth Cluff in 1926. The cemetery contains the grave sites of many of this area's most prominent civic and religious leaders. In the early 1980s a group of local citizens formed the Moss Hill Cemetery Committee to help maintain the cemetery grounds. The committee sponsored garage and bake sales and other projects which raised sufficient funds to purchase and install a fence. Members of the community established a tradition of meeting during the fall of each year for a cemetery homecoming and grounds maintenance.

Moss Hill Community Cemetery is a historical marker in Woodville, Tyler County, dedicated in 1994. It is one of 29 historical markers documented in Tyler County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 135 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.8036, -94.3618 near Woodville. The nearest cataloged historic site is Heard Family (cemetery), about 1.9 miles away. Others within a short drive include Unknown, Rigsby, and Kirby, John Henry-and Education in Woodville.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5457011371. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.