Christian
County Its First Hundred Years |
Before the Civil War John White's grandfather homesteaded land about one mile west of Petelo, where the Springhill Baptist Church and School house was built. The elder White was buried in the cemetery beside the church in 1856, at the age of 77. His grave is the oldest one in the cemetery that has a marked stone. Oldtimers say however that some of the unmarked graves are older.
The Miller family was among the earliest settlers. Thomas Miller
homesteaded one hundred sixty acres on Petelo Creek. He moved all
of his possessions to his homestead on the back of a pack mule. Jess
Miller homesteaded on Petelo Creek, northwest of Petelo in 1876 on
land now known as the Will Lassley place. His son, Samuel,
homesteaded the Burness Inmon place. Samuel died in 1878 and was
the first person buried in the Miller Cemetery. The Millers later moved on the area known as "The Ridge" where the present Petelo store is located. Thomas Miller was the first postmaster and ran the office in