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Telico Cemetery
THE FIRST BURIAL IN THIS CEMETERY WAS THAT OF THE
REV. WILLIAM J. KIRKPATRICK, A LOCAL CUMBERLAND
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, WHO DIED ON MAY 1, 1867. SHORTLY
AFTER HIS DEATH, A CONGREGATION ORGANIZED BY THE REV.
W.G.L. QUAITE WAS NAMED IN KIRKPATRICK'S HONOR, AND A
PLACE OF WORSHIP WAS CONSTRUCTED LATER NEAR THE
GRAVESITE. LAND SURROUNDING KIRKPATRICK'S GRAVE WAS
PART OF THE PLANTATION OF CONFEDERATE VETERAN MAJOR
HENRY PANNILL. PANNILL' S SON JOSEPH DIED IN OCTOBER
1867
AND WAS BURIED NEAR KIRKPATRICK'S GRAVESITE. THE FOL-
LOWING YEAR PANNILL DEEDED SOME OF HIS LAND AROUND
THE BURIAL SITES TO TRUSTEES OF THE KIRKPATRICK
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
WITHIN THE NEXT DECADE THE COMMUNITY OF TELICO
GREW UP AROUND THE CHURCH BUILDING AND CEMETERY.
AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, HOWEVER, PEOPLE BEGAN
ABANDONING THE VILLAGE FOR THE CONVENIENCES OF THE
RAILROAD TOWN OF ENNIS (6 MI. W) AND THE CEMETERY
FELL INTO A PERIOD OF NEGLECT.
TELICO CEMETERY SERVES AS A REMINDER OF THE
HARDSHIPS
FACED BY AREA PIONEERS. OF THE MORE THAN 300 KNOWN
GRAVES, 45 DATE BEFORE 1882 AND ALMOST HALF ARE OF
CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF TEN. SINCE 1937 THE TELICO
CEMETERY ASSOCIATION HAS CARED FOR THE GROUNDS.
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