A short history of the Cemetery was written in 1978 and records were updated in 1981 by Mrs. Lloyd Richmond.
Efforts to compile a history of the Mount Pisgah Cemetery are limited because of the lack of complete records. Information, some facts and some hearsay, is presented for reference to future generations.
W.H. and Elizabeth Reavis came from Mississippi to Texas to locate, on what is now known as “The Carter Pasture”, by virtue of preemption Certificate dated January 1854. On this tract of land a building of hewn boards was erected to be used for both school and church. The site was about a mile north of the entrance of the cemetery as it is today. Benches for this multipurpose building were made of split logs.
The Church that was organized August 5, 1855 was called Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. Among the charter members were W.H. and Elizabeth Reavis. The Building was referred to as “The Board Shanty”.
A plot of ground was set aside for a cemetery, and a Reavis was the first to be buried in it. Perhaps the death necessitated the designation of a burial ground. It is not known which one was the first; there are three graves without dates within the original three-foot high rock wall enclosure; W.H., Elizabeth, and an infant. Some of the rocks have been removed to make other markers in the cemetery, but a portion of the enclosure remains. The cemetery has always been known as “Mount Pisgah”, the same name given to the original church in 1855.