Fannin County

Ladonia Cemetery

Historical Marker Text

The principal burial ground for members of the Ladonia community, this graveyard has historically been divided into two sections: The I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) Cemetery and the Presbyterian Cemetery. The oldest recorded grave, that of Joe Shelby (d. 1866), infant daughter of J. E. and S. T. Shelby, is located in the Presbyterian Cemetery section. Also in that section is the "Stranger's Tomb," marking the grave of an unknown traveler who died in October 1867. Another early burial is that of William Lovelace Foster (1830-1869), Civil War veteran and pastor of Ladonia's first Baptist church at the time of his death. The I.O.O.F. section of the cemetery was originally maintained by the local Odd Fellows Lodge. The earliest recorded grave there is that of Mrs. P. T. (Marie) Hockaday (1838-1881). The Lodge continued to care for its section of the cemetery until about 1902, when management of the two sections of the graveyard were merged. Those interred in the Ladonia Cemetery include veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II, as well as early settlers of the area, Fannin County officials, and many generations of Ladonia citizens.

1988