Titus County, Texas Cemetery Search - Bridges Chapel Cemetery

Bridges Chapel Cemetery, a very old and large public cemetery located in northwest Titus County, has been designated a Texas Historical Site. The Historical marker installed in 2000 reads as follows:

"Relious and Candice Grissom Bridges settled in this area between 1857 and 1860 along with Candice's brother Thomas Grissom. In 1867 the family gave land for a Methodist Church and cemetery at this site. The first burial is believed to have been that of a laborer for Thomas Grissom. The earliest marked grave is that of that of Mary Bridges Williams, who died giving birth to her third child, a son who died with her in 1868. Both Relious and Candice Bridges died on October 11 of that year. Six more of their children are interred here. A 1904 Tornado scattered the fragile wooden markers in the Bridges Cemetery, but order was restored. Perpetual care was established here in the 1960s and the Bridges Chapel Cemetery continues as a chronicle of the early pioneers of Titus County and the surrounding areas."

Decoration Day services are held on the Saturday before the Fourth Sunday in April where funds are solicited to maintain the cemetery. Cemetery maintenance seems to have eradicated evidence of some graves, since no depressions remain and native stones have been piled in a few locations. Native stones, concrete slabs and blocks, and other irregular objects mark graves in addition to commercially manufactured monuments.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS FROM THE TITUS COUNTY COURTHOUSE:

Drive 8.7 miles north on Jefferson Street (Business U.S. 271, which later becomes U.S. 271) to the intersection of County Road 1465. Turn right (east) on County Road 1465. The Bridges Chapel Cemetery driveway is 0.2 miles east of U.S. 271. Turn left at the drive. The cemetery is about 0.1 mile from the County Road.

GPS COORDINATES: 33°20.787' N 095°02.769' W

DECORATION DAY: Fourth Saturday in April before the fifth Sunday each year

MARKED BURIALS INDEXED IN TCS DATABASE: 1,330 (2008-04-01)

FREE BURIAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FOR THIS CEMETERY.

SEE "HOW TO REQUEST BURIAL INFORMATION" PAGE FOR DETAILS.

(NOTE: This cemetery contains un-named burials marked by irregular makers like natural stones and other methods that could not be included in the Titus Cemetery Search database.)

LAST TCS PHYSICAL SURVEY: 2006-03-10

Historical information for this cemetery was provided by and used with the permission of David Horton, and was compiled from Mr. Horton's work and the earlier work of Lynch Harper. Map provided courtesy of Ark-La-Tex Council of Governments GIS department. Please forward any mapping questions to http://www.atcog.org/gis_mapping.htm.

Information updated 2008-04-01