Freestone County

Dew Cemetery

Historical Marker Text

The first families in this community migrated from Alabama in the 1850s. Originally known as Avant or Avant Prairie, the settlement became Sunshine after the Sunshine Methodist Church moved here from Harrison chapel in 1870. In 1869 W. S. Compton, one of the early settlers, and D. A. Self, local merchant and dentist, donated land for this community cemetery. First burial was that of a young girl, Missouri A. E. Humphrey (1869-1871). Other early graves date from the yellow fever epidemic of 1873. The town was renamed in 1885 when Dew Post Office opened. The name "Drew" was requested to honor a local resident, but postal officials misread the application. A market center for cotton farmers of the area, Dew had a cotton gin and several stores. Rural delivery replaced the Dew Post Office in 1909. A land donation by Wiley Black in 1901 enlarged the graveyard, which lies adjacent to Dew Methodist Church where funeral services are held. About 1912-13 a cemetery association was organized. Descendants and community residents gather at annual memorial day observances to tend the 11 and 1/3 acre site. The 1000 graves here include many from the 1918-19 influenza epidemic.

1977

location: at the SW corner of US 75 and FM 489 in Dew