Located in Hill County near tree-lined Richland Creek in the small town of Mertens, Texas is the eponymous Richland Cemetery resting amid pastures and farms.
A Texas historical marker states that three acres ofland was deeded for a community cemetery in 1883 by Jesse S. Thomas and Mary Ann Thomas. Acreage has been added since then. The oldest documented grave here is that of Mary E. McCleskey (1826-1883).
Others interred in the graveyard include area pioneers; five generations of the Thomas family; numerous infant graves; and veterans of the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Ward I, World War II, Korean, and Vietnam. Some grave markers include symbols indicating membership in various organizations such as Woodsmen of the World.
There are many unmarked graves. Some plots have only the last name of the family. Several graves have old styled fencing. Many headstones have personal inscriptions such as "Wife, Mother, Friend She Did All So Well". Others have carvings of boots with hats and ropes or pilot wings. A few graves are marked only with the metal funeral home markers.
Family members are responsible for the upkeep of their relatives' graves. The cemetery association makes needed repairs and maintains the site mostly with the help of volunteers and contributions. The goal is to maintain and preserve the cemetery.
The Richland Creek Cemetery Association meets annually in the spring at the cemetery to clean up, hold a meeting, and lunch together in fellowship.
Richland Creek Cemetery Association, Mertens, Texas 76666
A request is made here for information, facts, news articles, obituaries, photos, biographies, anecdotes, corrections to incorrect information, etc. Please send copies, not the originals.
Please send to: Lana Davis, (512) 632-5511
Dated: August 2008
I would like to express my appreciation to Lana for sending me the above photographs to put on this page, photos of tombstones in the cemetery and adding new names and dates. Below are the pages of the gravesite information for the Richland Cemetery list. A - F
© 2010-Present -- Patsy Vinson Hill County Coordinator TXGenWeb
