The Bear Creek Cemetery foundation invites you to attend a reception Sunday, April 6, 2014, from 2-4 pm. We are celebrating the completion of new improvements to the cemetery.
Bear Creek Cemetery has been awarded five grants from the Collin County Historical Commission. The first grant was awarded in August of 2010. This grant was used to install an iron fence with walk-through and drive-through gates on the east side of the cemetery. This fence is in the front of the cemetery along the road. In 2011, Bear Creek Cemetery was awarded two grants. One grant was used to fence the south side of the cemetery. The other grant was used to level and repair grave markers in the cemetery. This cemetery was neglected for many years leaving most grave markers in need of repair. With this grant we focused on the largest stones that were in danger of falling: 23 grave markers were repaired. In April of 2011, a marker restoration workshop was held at the cemetery and three grave markers were repaired at that time. In 2012, with the help of a fourth grant, we repaired, leveled, and cleaned 19 more markers.
In 2013, Bear Creek Cemetery Foundation was awarded another grant to partially cover the cost of repairing more grave markers in the cemetery. In February 2014, we were able to repair, level, and clean 25 more markers and partially repair five more. These markers were very damaged and many were laying flat on the ground. Four men from the Empire Masonic Lodge 586, (Shawn Sutherland, David Stanfield, Earl Price, Joe Wetzel, and Joe’s six- year-old son), along with members of Boy Scout Troop 1814 from Nevada dug up the bases that support the grave markers and preparing the sites for each of the markers to be repaired and leveled. They also helped us clear a large quantity of fallen branches from the winter ice storms. Texas Cemetery Restoration LLC repaired the markers. The Boy Scout leaders and boys are: Neal Michael (Grandfather), Claude Michael (Father), Duncan Michael, Holden Michael, Richard Caldwell (Father), Hayden Caldwell, Gary Chappell (Father), Joe Chappell, Walter Barr, James McDaniel, and Dyllan Bramlett. Everyone did an excellent job.
Bear Creek Cemetery was designated a Texas Historical Cemetery in 2005. We have mapped the cemetery and have photographed all of the grave markers.
Future projects include: fencing the west and north sides of the cemetery, repairing more grave markers, GPR (ground penetrating radar) to locate unmarked graves, leveling the dirt where graves have collapsed and where animals have dug holes, improving the driveway, pruning trees and installing a flag pole.
We are in the process of writing a book about the cemetery. If you have any pictures or information of people who are buried at Bear Creek Cemetery, please contact us at: beckybabyfeet@verizon.net or call 972-463-7523.
Please consider attending our reception, joining our foundation, doing volunteer work, or making a donation to continue taking care of this very old cemetery.
