Pin Oak, Texas, Fayette County ghost town, and Pin Oak Cemetery. (original) (raw)
"The graves of Dr. Kenzie Routh, born 18 Nov. 1811 in Sevier County, TN; died 9 Jan. 1875 in Fayette County, TX and wife, Amanda Murrell Routh, born 27 Aug. 1822 in Lincoln County, TN; died 4 April 1909 in Fayette County, TX. The Pin Oak Cemetery is located on land once owned by the Rouths" - Carolyn Heinsohn
Pin Oak History
By Carolyn Heinsohn (Fayette County Historical Commission)
One of the oldest communities in the county, settled in 1840 by Leander and Candace Cottle. Other American families soon followed.
Originally called Black Jack Springs, it encompassed a large area across parts of two leagues; in 1867, the community was partitioned off. A new community in the Thomas O. Berry�s League was named Black Jack Springs, and old Black Jack Springs in the Noah Karnes� League became Pin Oak.
The first school was established in 1840; a second school in another location was built in 1848. The last school operated until 1935, when the enrollment was 35 in grades one through nine.
The first store was built by G.W. Tuttle; it housed the post office and justice court; taxes were assessed and collected in the store, which served as a voting place.
J.C.C. Smith established a store and blacksmith shop in 1846.
A second post office in the area, located just south of the present-day intersection of FM 609 and FM 2237, was known as the Black Jack Post Office.
The historic Pin Oak Cemetery is all that remains of the community. The oldest unmarked graves are believed to be for two soldiers returning with Dawson�s Men; they died of measles at a nearby home. The oldest tombstone is for the community�s founder, Leander Cottle, buried in 1845.
Pin Oak Cemetery Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Carolyn Heinsohn, September 2013
Historical Marker
PIN OAK CEMETERY
The first burials at this site, now unmarked, were for two ailing soldiers who died here following the Battle of Salado Creek near San Antonio in 1842. The oldest marked grave is that of Lee F.T. Cottle (1788-1845). Located on property once held by the Routh family, this burial ground served both the communities of Black Jack Springs and Pin Oak and has been known by both names. An association, over 100 years old, cares for these grounds that chronicle settlers of the Republic of Texas era; slaves; veterans of the War of 1812, the Texas Revolution and the Civil War; and many area pioneers and their descendants.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002
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