THE MONUMENT PART OF RESTORE HAS BEEN COMPLETED –
23 headstones were put on top of the gravesite on the ground set in cement.
69 headstones (broken) were glued, leveled, straightened and reset.
87 headstones were leveled, straightened and reset (not in the 69 above)
1 headstone and footstone was moved from the tree
50 footstones (broken) were glued and reset
77 footstones were reset (not in the 50 above)
And 3 big trees are gone.
The chances are 10 to 1 that I missed a count in the above but you have an idea just how much damage repair and resetting has been done. Total spent to date is $8,025.00.
We have $670.00 left from the Smith Foundation Grant which must be paid out by Sept 1st. and $1,830.00 left from the RESTORE funds for a total of $2,500.00. I’m hoping to get the fences (iron and chainlink) around the grave sites leveled and painted. Also need some work on the outside fence. I do not have an estimate yet for this work. We have $1,758.36 left in the general upkeep fund. We have had 3 mowing since the May meeting and until we get some rain we will not have any more.
As always – thanks for your support. Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards, Cecil
Spring Hill Cemetery located in Navarro County near Dawson, Texas.
------------------------A Texas Historical Cemetery----------------------
The Beginning:
Spring Hill Cemetery, Dawson, Navarro County, Texas
2 miles northeast of Dawson off State Highway 31.
The Spring Hill Cemetery is on land that was the home place of Dr. Washington Hill and his wife Katherine (Matthews) Slauter Hill. Dr. Hill was one of President Sam
Houston’s cabinet members, a wealthy landowner, trader, physician, statesman. Hill
County was named in his honor. Dr. and Mrs. Hill are both buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery with many descendants. In 1936 the State of Texas erected a State Centennial monument at their graves.
While the cemetery had its start as the private burying place for Hill family members Dr. Hill stipulated in his 1860 Will that 2 acres of land surrounding his family grave yard was to be a “perpetual burying place” and thus the present Spring Hill Cemetery was established. Some reports say it was called “Hills Cemetery” in the beginning.
In the early days a public road went by the North side of the cemetery, but at some point this road was closed leaving the cemetery land-locked in a pasture, about 1/4 mile from the nearest access road. Very few burials have taken place there in recent years.
In 1970 the Spring Hill Cemetery Association was organized, donations collected, and a chain link fence installed to keep out the grazing cattle that over the years destroyed many of the grave markers. The address for the Spring Hill Cemetery Association is P.O. Box 94, Dawson, TX 76639.
Webb, Sarah Born: Aug 27, 1826 Died: Aug 25, 1848. Oldest known grave in the cemetery. The Webb family, traveling by covered wagon, were on their way to Franklin, Texas from Maury County, TN and were camped under the oak trees near the log cabin trading post of Dr. G.W. Hill. Sarah Webb was sick and died. Permission was given to bury her where they camped.
NOTES:
Future interments are limited to active (dues paying) members of the Spring Hill Cemetery Association. Membership in the Spring Hill Cemetery Association is limited to families having relatives previously interred at Spring Hill.
(1) Spring Hill Cemetery was approved by the Internal Revenue Code as a Section 501 (c) 13 entity August 11, 1987. Donations are therefore Tax Deductible for Federal Income purposes.
(2) Declaration of Dedication of the Spring Hill Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery by The Texas Historical Commission August 31, 1998. Filed in Navarro County September 3, 1998 by County Clerk James F. Doolen.
Spring Hill Cemetery, Dawson, Navarro County, Texas
2 miles northeast of Dawson off State Highway 31.
The Spring Hill Cemetery is on land that was the home place of Dr. Washington Hill and his wife Katherine (Matthews) Slauter Hill. Dr. Hill was one of President Sam
Houston’s cabinet members, a wealthy landowner, trader, physician, statesman. Hill
County was named in his honor. Dr. and Mrs. Hill are both buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery with many descendants. In 1936 the State of Texas erected a State Centennial monument at their graves.
While the cemetery had its start as the private burying place for Hill family members Dr. Hill stipulated in his 1860 Will that 2 acres of land surrounding his family grave yard was to be a “perpetual burying place” and thus the present Spring Hill Cemetery was established. Some reports say it was called “Hills Cemetery” in the beginning.
In the early days a public road went by the North side of the cemetery, but at some point this road was closed leaving the cemetery land-locked in a pasture, about 1/4 mile from the nearest access road. Very few burials have taken place there in recent years.
In 1970 the Spring Hill Cemetery Association was organized, donations collected, and a chain link fence installed to keep out the grazing cattle that over the years destroyed many of the grave markers. The address for the Spring Hill Cemetery Association is P.O. Box 94, Dawson, TX 76639.
Webb, Sarah Born: Aug 27, 1826 Died: Aug 25, 1848. Oldest known grave in the cemetery. The Webb family, traveling by covered wagon, were on their way to Franklin, Texas from Maury County, TN and were camped under the oak trees near the log cabin trading post of Dr. G.W. Hill. Sarah Webb was sick and died. Permission was given to bury her where they camped.
NOTES:
Future interments are limited to active (dues paying) members of the Spring Hill Cemetery Association. Membership in the Spring Hill Cemetery Association is limited to families having relatives previously interred at Spring Hill.
(1) Spring Hill Cemetery was approved by the Internal Revenue Code as a Section 501 (c) 13 entity August 11, 1987. Donations are therefore Tax Deductible for Federal Income purposes.
(2) Declaration of Dedication of the Spring Hill Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery by The Texas Historical Commission August 31, 1998. Filed in Navarro County September 3, 1998 by County Clerk James F. Doolen.
The Spring Hill Cemetery Association is dedicated to preserving this historical site which means so much to so many families around the state of Texas, across the USA, and beyond. The marker shown above is that of Dr. George Washington Hill a pioneer Texan and the namesake of Hill County, Texas. The stones were knocked over by a falling tree and have recently been repaired and reset. Donations to the cemetery association will assure that repair and maintenance work can continue.
Please feel free to contact me for additional information. We intend to use this site to inform members concerning upcoming events and activities. As the site matures we expect to post more pictures, biographies, and names of those buried there along with the basic information from their markers.
William P. Matthews, President
Please feel free to contact me for additional information. We intend to use this site to inform members concerning upcoming events and activities. As the site matures we expect to post more pictures, biographies, and names of those buried there along with the basic information from their markers.
William P. Matthews, President