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THOMPSON CEMETERY - LAVON

SH78                 33.057N                  96.422W

 This cemetery is about ¼ mile northeast of Mallard Park and the Abston Cemetery. Abner Thompson gave a portion of his land for the cemetery and became its first burial in 1852. He is buried in the eastern part with his grave marked by two large square stones, one at the head and one at the foot. Each stone is about 3 inches thick. In 1862 Miles Graves gave 1.1 acres of land to Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church with the deed recorded in Vol 15, p 308. At one time Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church was on the south bank of Price Creek. The church divided in 1882 with part of the membership going to Copeville and part to South Church, south of Nevada. When the church disbanded, the Graves Family Cemetery, which was adjacent to the Thompson Cemetery, became part of the Thompson Cemetery.

Price Creek here looks like part of Lake Lavon. When Lake Lavon backs up into the creeks, part of the cemetery is under water. When Lake Lavon was built, the Corps of Engineers raised the southwest, southeast and northeast corners of the cemetery 6 feet and leveled the rest of the cemetery. In recent years, the Sheriff's Department has had to get after fishermen, who drove through the cemetery and across graves to get to Price Creek. Indian artifacts have been found on the northern side of the cemetery.

This is a large cemetery, covering several acres. There are over 800 graves here. The entrance has granite markers that say,"Thompson Cemetery, established 1852, Your love will light my way," and, "Memorial Entrance, erected 1962, Your memory will ever be with us." There is a large tabernacle near the entrance. The cemetery has a historical marker. It is directly across Price/George Creek from the Bear Creek Cemetery and diagonally across the Price Creek from the Abston Cemetery. Price and George Creeks combine at this point.

This cemetery has a cemetery association. They hold a decoration day every year. The cemetery is very well maintained and is still active.
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy Gough

THOMPSON CEMETERY

COLLIN COUNTY PIONEER ABNER THOMPSON CAME TO

THIS AREA ABOUT 1850 AND SETTLED ON LAND THAT WAS

ORIGINALLY PART OF THE SILVESTER WILLIAMS SURVEY,

DEEDING A PORTION OF OT TO BE USED AS A CEMETERY.

THE FIRST BURIAL, THAT OF THOMPSON HIMSELF, TOOK PLACE

IN 1852. HIS GRAVE IS MARKED WITH TWO LARGE SQUARE

STONES WHICH HAVE DETERIORATED THROUGH TIME AND

HAVE BECOME NEARLY ILLEGIBLE. TALL POSTS OF BOIS d'ARC,

WHICH MARK THE NEARBY GRAVE ON ONE OF THOMPSON'S

EMPLOYEES, HAVE STOOD THE EFFECTS OF WEATHERING

FOR MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

ALSO BURIED HERE ARE MILES AND EMILY J. GRAVES

WHO, IN 1862, DONATED OVER AN ACRE OF LAND TO THE

MOUNT PLEASANT BAPTIST CHURCH, WHICH WAS ORGANIZED

FIVE YEARS EARLIER. WHEN THE CONGREGATION DIVIDED IN

THE EARLY 1880s, THAT LAND WAS GIVEN TO THE THOMPSON

CEMETERY, WHICH WAS ENLARGED SEVERAL MORE TIMES

IN LATER YEARS.

A MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE HAS BEEN HELD AT THE

THOMPSON CEMETERY EACH YEAR SINCE THE EARLY 1950s,

BRINGING TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM THE NEARBY COMMUNITIES

OF LAVON AND COPEVILLE. THERE ARE OVER 800 GRAVES

HERE WHICH ARE GIVEN PERPETUAL CARE BY THE THOMPSON

CEMETERY ASSOCIATION.
Texas Historical marker, 1983.