Texas Historical Marker #09653
French Cemetery. According to local tradition, this cemetery derives its name from a group of French settlers who were killed and buried near the site sometime during the 18th century. Although no physical evidence of the French burials has been found, the name has been in common use for more than 100 years. Referred to in the mid-1800s as the Pruett Family Cemetery, the graveyard is located on land acquired by Beasley Pruett from the Mexican government in 1824. Upon his death in 1835, Pruett was buried on his land grant in a now-unmarked grave. The earliest marked grave here, dated 1860, is that of Martha Day, a daughter-in-law of Beasley Pruett. Other early Liberty County settlers and Pruett family descendants buried here include Reason Green (1800-1868), who held several 19th-century public offices; surnames of other prominent citizens buried here include Brashear and Linney. Veterans of four wars and the Korean Conflict are interred here. In 1946, landowners W. T. Jamison, Sr. (1878-1962) and J. N. Coleman (1882-1948) formally set aside these two acres of the French Cemetery as part of the sale of the surrounding land. The graveyard remains an important reflection of Liberty County history. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986 #9653
?, Dayton, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #09652
First Methodist Church of Dayton. Methodist worship services were conducted in West Liberty, later known as Dayton, as early as 1855. By 1900 the First Methodist Church had a full-time pastor, the Rev. G. T. Newberry, who conducted services in the Dayton schoolhouse on North Main Street. In 1906 the congregation built its first sanctuary. A one-story wooden structure with a bell tower, which continued to serve the members until 1928. A church school also was organized in 1906, and Charles Wilson was elected to serve as the first superintendent. A series of worship and education facilities were constructed to accommodate the growing congregation through the years, including a large two-story brick building with a basement on the northwest corner of Houston Avenue and Cleveland Street in 1928. Due to continued growth, the 1928 structure was razed in 1980, and the congregation built a new sanctuary in 1981. After a denominational merger in 1968, the church's name was changed to first United Methodist Church. throughout the years the congregation has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, social, and missionary programs. #9652
106 S. Cleveland St., Dayton, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #09651
First Baptist Church of Dayton. The first Baptist congregation in Dayton was formed in 1878, when ten worshipers gathered together to begin a church. A one-room schoolhouse, located on what is now East Cook Street, was used for worship services until 1895. The church's first pastor was the Rev. E. M. Forman, a circuit riding minister. Other traveling clergymen also pastored the small church in its early years, including D. W. Jackson, J. McArthur Black, J. A. Lee, J. F. McLeod, and J. M. Day. In 1895 the Baptist congregation began conducting services in a Union Church on the southeast corner of Waring and North Main streets. In 1901, following damage to the Union Church in the hurricane of 1900, construction began on a baptist sanctuary near this site on South Church Street. Throughout its history the First Baptist congregation has sought to serve its community. A Ladies Aid Society was organized in 1911, and the first of many local missions was established in 1912. A youth ministry also began in 1912. The church congregation has maintained an active involvement in both home and foreign missionary projects. #9651
115 S. Church St., Dayton, TX, United States