Copeland Chapel Cemetery Receives Montgomery County Historical Commission Historical Marker

MONTGOMERY, TX -- The 129 year old Historic Copeland Cemetery, located off of McCaleb Road, on Copelan Chapel Road (correct spelling, you’d think after over 100 years, that someone would have bothered to correct the misspelling by now), was recently heralded by the Montgomery County Historical Commission as historic this past Saturday, seeing as nearly one-thousand citizens who have gone on the great beyond now call the place home. In 1896, when farmer Napoleon Bonaparte Johnson purchased land for his large Louisiana born family, one nearby sharecropper Nat Gibbs, and his wife Joana, suffered the loss of a child in August. Mr Johnson, kindly provided a small piece of his land to accommodate Baby Gibbs burial.

Then in September, a Mr Wm Garner passed on, and again in December, another infant went to meet Jesus. By 1911, a group of other property owners, trustees, all gave land to deed the Copeland Chapel Cemetery into existence. Other land donations throughout the years increased the size of the land, with the final donation of 2.14 acres, taking place in 1991 by Ms Carol Jones Couvillion. Monetary donations over the years have been used in the cemetery’s upkeep, including one ol’ widow who gave .81 cents, which was quite a chunk of change back in the day. Copeland Cemetery finally was incorporated by the State of Texas in February 1978.

The September 20th ceremony, with Montgomery County Historical Commission members on hand, made it official. Annette Kerr, County Historical Commission Marker Chair, a lady relentless in making and keeping Montgomery County, the state leader in historically recognized resting places, added another notch to her belt.

A big thanks go out to Harvey Yaw, a Trustee, and Cemetery Sentinel, of the Copeland Chapel Cemetery Association. Yaw is giving of his time and money to Copeland, and his reverence for Veterans buried at the site is touching. His project to post a 3’ x 5’ flag at each gravesite is, in one word, extraordinary; and seeing an ocean of Red, White, and Blue posted at the Copeland Cemetery during the most meaningful Patriotic months of the year is incredible. Harvey, a late stage Vietnam Combat Veteran, from 1970-71, has seen his share of metal flying around the hilltop firebase his unit occupied, before going onto his firefighting career in Houston, but now commands more geriatric troops in the maintenance of the Copeland acreage. It’s a calling for Yaw, and coupled with his VFW work, and the Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Group, he leads a very meaningful life, and many are honored to call him Brother and Friend.

Copeland Chapel Cemetery Association Trustee Anthony Nichols, recognized the marker sponsors, as well as the work that went into getting the piece installed. Association Member Tyrone Mynhier, with his Good Book in hand, offered a closing prayer, lauding God’s part in making the historical recognition at Copeland possible, as well as including a few heartfelt words in the healing of Our Nation following the recent troubling times we as a country have endured.