Rocky Mount Cemetery, Sabine Parish, LA

Rocky Mount Cemetery, Sabine Parish, LA

Located near Robeline, Natchitoches Parish, LA, but actually in Sabine Parish, this cemetery has served families of both parishes for many years. A Deed of Gift filed in Sabine Parish, LA on July 6, 1876 indicates the donation of some six acres of land (on the line of Sections 11 and 2, Township 8, Range 10) to the M.E. Church South (Many let Shreveport District Louisiana Conference) for use as a "church lot and burial ground" by H. B. Walmsley. The deed was witnessed by Willis Holmes, E. Smith, and received by Caswell Brown as President of the Board of Trustees for the Many let Shreveport District LA Conference M.E. Church South.

A second deed, dated October 28, 1911, by the M.E. Church South Louisiana Conference Pleasant Hill Charge Shreveport District, represented by I.W. Mallett, conveys to the C.M. Church, Rocky Mount, Sabine Parish, LA, represented by trustees J.L. Goodrow, Samuel Broadway, and A.J. Jordan some 4 ½ acres in Section 11, Township 8, Range 10. This deed was drawn at Marthaville, Natchitoches Parish, LA on October 28, 1911, and witnessed by D.R. Weldon and T.J. Roberson.

A third deed was written on the July 29, 1916, Natchitoches Parish, LA, by the M.E. Church Pleasant Hill Charge for the M.E. Church South represented by J.W. Mallett, conveying to the Congregational Methodist Church, Rocky Mount, represented by Samuel Broadway and J.L. Goodrow, some 4 ½ acres in Section 11, Township 8, Range 10 for the sum of $20. This deed was recorded in Sabine Parish, LA on August 12, 1916.

A fourth deed, executed on March 31, 1942, by the Sabine Parish School Board, represented by F.A. Keelan, President, conveys to Rocky Mount Congregational Methodist Church, represented by Willis Broadway, Richard Jenkins, and P.B. Broadway some 1 ½ acres in the extreme SW corner of church lands, Sections 11 and 2, Township 8N and Range 10W for the sum of $3.00. This would appear to be a deed of vacation and would lead to the assumption that part of the church lands were used by the Sabine Parish School Board for school purposes prior to 1942, a common occurrence in rural areas.

The oldest marked burial appears to be that of Lizzie Bertie Opry ( 1874 / 1875 ). While there may have been earlier unmarked burials, taken with the date of the first deed, this gives a fair indication of the establishment of the cemetery.

At least one Civil War Veteran is buried in Rocky Mount Cemetery: James M. Anders, who served in the renowned Crescent Regiment of Louisiana.

It is interesting to note the listing of burials for persons by the name of Warnock (1890, 1906, and 1918). Local history indicates that the town of Provencal, some ten miles south of Rocky Mount, was originally named Warnock and the United States Postal records show that the Provencal Post Office was originally named Warnock Post Office. The surname Warnock does not appear in the larger cemeteries surrounding Provencal nor does there appear to be persons by the name of Warnock living in the Provencal area at this time.

This listing of burials in the Rocky Mount Cemetery was compiled by Ms. Odell Cobb and Ms. Audrey Dipuma in April 1998. Ms. Cobb coordinated the deeds research at the Many, Sabine Parish, LA courthouse. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.

Location/directions: Take LA Hwy 120 north from Robeline, LA for 1.5 miles, turn left on Post Mill Road for about 1 mile, then turn right onto Rocky Mount Road and travel 1.1 miles. Rocky Mount Church and Cemetery are on the left at this point.

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Rocky Mount Cemetery

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