White Oak Springs is a very clean and well-maintained small cemetery located approximately 6 miles west of Mount Pleasant and south of Interstate 30 in Titus County. The Texas Utilities coal mine completely surrounds the White Oak Springs Church and Cemetery, but trees left around the site as a buffer zone gives the feeling of isolation. Coal in the vicinity surrounding the cemetery has been mined and the open pits closed and reclaimed, leaving the cemetery sitting in the center of very large, well-maintained green pastures.
The cemetery remains active for public burials and an annual memorial service is held.
Old age finally caught up with the White Oak Springs Missionary Baptist Church building in 2005. Through time, the building had become structurally unsound and the repairs required were too extensive and expensive for the church's small congregation. The White Oak Springs Missionary Baptist Church was disbanded and the building torn down. Howard Coats, President of the Cemetery Association, demolished the building and showed us 100-year old axe-hewn timbers that he removed from it. The land that the church formerly occupied will be added to the cemetery.
A committee funded by private donations from friends and relatives of those interred oversees cemetery maintenance. A chain link fence surrounds the grounds, and a fine grass carpet with nice landscaping inside the fence demonstrates the cemetery's excellent care.
Several graves without monuments were lost over the years as irregular markers (rocks, etc.) used to mark them were removed. Graves are marked by commercially produced monuments and a few irregular markers that include petrified wood, native stones, concrete, a flat marble slab, a section of metal water pipe, and funeral home markers.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS FROM THE TITUS COUNTY COURTHOUSE:
TEXAS FM-899 ROUTE (SHORTEST):
Travel 0.5 miles west on West First Street to the intersection of Ferguson Road (U.S. 271).
Veer to the right and enter Ferguson Road, continue west 0.3 miles to the intersection of Texas FM 899.
Turn left onto FM 899 and proceed 5.4 miles until Titus County Road 2500 intersects FM-899 from the left 0.1 miles past the Interstate 30/Frontage Road overpass (Interstate Exit 156).
Turn left on Titus County Road 2500 and drive 0.5 miles until County Road 2502 intersects County Road 2500 from the left. A small white sign on a tall post on the right side of County Road 2500 says "White Oak Springs Cemetery" and an arrow points to County Road 2502 (the 2502 sign was missing when we photographed the cemetery on 01-30-2006).
Turn left on County Road 2502 and drive 0.2 mile. County Road 2502 dead-ends at the White Oak Springs Cemetery and former church site. The cemetery will be on your left.
INTERSTATE 30 ROUTE:
Travel 1.5 miles north on North Jefferson Street (Business U.S. 271) to its intersection with the North service road of Interstate 30.
Turn left onto the service road and enter westbound I-30.
Travel west on I-30 for 6 miles and take Exit 156 (Frontage Road).
Turn left at the exit ramp stop sign and cross to the south service road.
Turn right (west) at the stop sign onto the south service road and travel 0.1 mile to the intersection of County Road 2500.
Turn left on County Road 2500 and drive 0.5 miles until County Road 2502 intersects County Road 2500 from the left. A small white sign on a tall post on the right side of County Road 2500 says "White Oak Springs Cemetery" and an arrow points to County Road 2502 (the 2502 sign was missing when we photographed the cemetery on 01-30-2006).
Turn left on County Road 2502 and drive 0.2 mile. County Road 2502 dead-ends at the White Oak Springs Cemetery and former church site. The cemetery will be on your left.
