This burial ground, which contains over 3,000 graves, has served area residents since the mid-1800s. In 1860, Nathan W. Gann, who came to Texas with his family in 1836, donated this property and a church building he constructed to Williams Chapel Methodist Church. The first known burial on this land was of Jacob J. Gann in 1861. In 1893, the church disbanded and this property reverted to Nathan Gann, who then deeded it to the Missionary Baptist Church, which is now known as O'Quinn Baptist Church.
Many early Angelina County pioneers used this property as a burial ground. As the area's lumber and agricultural industries developed, a number of rural communities organized. The former Lufkin U.S. Air Force Radar Base (later the site of Lufkin State School) was also located nearby. Gann Memorial Cemetery became the primary burial ground for residents of the area, which became known as the Central-Pollok community. Among those interred here are at least five county officials, over 200 veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War and numerous members of various fraternal organizations.
Over the years, family members of the interred cared for the cemetery, which grew due to the generosity of local landowners. In 1978, the Gann Memorial Cemetery Association began to maintain it. The cemetery features curbing, false crypts, vertical stones and obelisks. Today, Gann Memorial Cemetery continues to serve local families and provides a reminder of the early pioneers of the Central and Pollok communities.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2007 Marker is Property of the State of Texas.
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