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Lilac School,
1901
"The boy with the arrow overhead is Henry Baker" - James
See Texas
Schoolhouses |
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There is a historic
marker at the above intersection across the street from the Graves
Cemetery.
In the spring
the cemetery blooms with the flowers of hundreds of irises.
The highest
reported population at Lilac was 100 people in 1884. It lost its
post office in 1905 and the population fell to 40 by the end of
the 1930s.
Today it is what is known as a "dispersed rural community."
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Historical
Marker Text
Lilac
Primarily a farming
and stockraising settlement, Lilac was originally known as Oak Point.
Dr. John H. Graves, a dentist and planter, brought his family to Milam
County in 1858. The community which developed around his farm was
named Lilac in 1883 when a U. S. post office was established. The
Graves family continued to reside in the area for generations, donating
land for a school, Baptist church, and Methodist encampment. (See
Forum below) At its height Lilac
included two stores, a cotton gin, blacksmith shop, and homes. It
declined after a 1921 flood and the Great Depression.
(1990) |
Historical
Marker Text
Lilac Cemetery
Dr. John Herndon
Graves (1807-1889) and his family settled in this area in 1858. They
acquired several large tracts of land over time, and Dr. Graves' daughter
and her husband deeded the land around this site for Lilac Baptist
Church in 1880. It was intended for use as a cemetery as well. According
to oral history, another area resident subsequently deeded a strip
of land across the south end of the cemetery. (See Forum
below) The earliest marked grave on this site is that of Calvin McCormick
(d. 1870). Dr. John H. Graves' marker indicates that he was the earliest-born
of those interred here. Other burials of interest include four Civil
War veterans, one Spanish-American
War veteran, nine veterans of World
War I and a number of veterans of other wars and conflicts. Lilac
Cemetery continues as a chronicle of Milam County history.
(2000) |
Lilac, Texas
Forum
Subject: Lilac,
Texas
The old church ground, old school ground, and the cemetery land was
donated by the Richmon family, not the Graves as proclaimed on the
historical marker at the corner
of FM 487 and FM 3061. The Wilson family has held the title to all
of these properties for over 100 years before giving them to the Graves.
- Sincerely, Fred Wilson, January 13, 2008 |
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A
well-built and detailed outhouse
TE Photo 2001 |
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Texas
Escapes,
in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas,
asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us.
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