Lake Chapel Cemetery (a.k.a. Ward Prairie cemetery, a.k.a. Lake's
Chapel cemetery)
Reprinted from the archives with permission of
Eric Wood
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Status: Active
Background: At least by 1874, Lake Chapel cemetery was serving its community of Ward Prairie. The cemetery gets its name from the Lake family whose lands it was on and the chapel/school building that was moved here to be in a more central location for the community.
Historical Marker:
Pioneers Simeon and Nancy Lake and their seven children
settled in this area in the mid-1850s. They built a home,
cleared the land, and began farming. The settlement which
gradually built up around the Lake farm became known as Lake
Chapel community after a small church was built on their
property about 1856. Known as Lake Chapel Methodist Church,
it was also used by other denominations in the area. A
schoolhouse was also constructed nearby, and two acres of
land were set aside for a community burial ground. The
earliest documented burial in the cemetery is that of the
infant daughter of W. L. and Laura Lake Thornton. A
granddaughter of Simeon and Nancy Lake, the child died at
the age of five days in 1874. The church and school
buildings were later moved from the property, and the
graveyard's size was increased over the years. Among those
interred here are members of the Lake and other pioneer
families, as well as veterans of the Civil War, World War I,
World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The diverse styles of
grave markers which can be seen in the cemetery reflect the
social history of the area, offering a glimpse into the
customs and traditions of the past.
NOTE - Newspapers of the time were not very clear which "Ward Prairie cemetery" people were buried. This is one of a number of possible cemeteries (Day cemetery and Hickory Grove/Jameson cemetery. However, this is by far the most likely cemetery they are referring to.
NOTE - There a large number of unmarked graves if one compares the newspaper accounts against the headstones of the surrounding area.
NOTE - Also be aware that it is common that families would move to Ward Prairie for several years and then move on to western Texas counties or Oklahoma.
Directions: This one is about seven miles northeast of Fairfield, near the Ward Prairie community. From Fairfield drive on Farm Road #488 northeast seven miles until pass the Ward Prairie Baptist Church. Enclosed by chain link fence. Over the gate is labeled "THE LAKE CHAPEL CEMETERY".
Decimal degrees: N 31.797524 W -96.144642
Degrees, minutes: N 31 47.851 W 096 08.678
UTM: Zone 14, Easting 770345, Northing 3521544
Number of Graves:
Oldest Marked Grave: 10/19/1874
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Abbreviations:
*D* = Death Record on this website
*O* = Obituary on this website
*P* = Photo of tombstone on this website
*S* = SSDI on this website
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