Pilot Grove Cemetery

According to a marker at the cemetery the Pilot Grove Cemetery was founded by Wesley Vick on 25 July 1889 and the Cemetery Association was organized April 22, 1962. There are 458 markers in this well kept cemetery. The oldest belongs to Alma Karney, who died 19 Nov 1877. The marker states:

Pilot Grove Church and Cemetery

The community of Pilot Grove was named for a landmark grove of trees. One of its first settlers was John Wesley Vick, who brought his family here about 1875. When the need for a community cemetery became evident, Vick donated one acre of his land for that purpose, provided that it was maintained as a free burial ground. The first adult buried in the Pilot Grove Cemetery was Mary C. Williams in 1880, although it is known that several children of early residents were buried here before that time. In 1889, J. Wesley Vick and E. J. Vick deeded one acre of land adjoining the graveyard to the Mt. Herman Baptist Church, which had been organized the same year. The congregation built this wood frame sanctuary on the land in 1891. Descendants of the church's charter members continued to worship here until 1948, when the lack of a regular pastor and regular worship services caused the membership to dwindle to five. Descendants of early Pilot Grove residents have cared for the cemetery and church building over the years. The original cemetery association that formed in 1906 combined with the remaining members of the Mt. Herman Church in 1962 to form the Pilot Grove Church and Cemetery Association. -- 1984

To get to the cemetery go south on FM 318 to FM 2543, turn left and go east to the second road to the right. The cemetery is about half a mile down this road on the right. Alternate directions: From Yoakum, take SH 111 east about 2.5 miles then go north on CR 406 about 3 miles to FM 2543 then follow east 2/3 mile go south on CR 0.4 mile.