Take Highway 96 North to Tenaha and Highway 84, turn right, east, onto 84 and continue for 3 miles to the Ramah Baptist Church. The cemetery is across the railroad tracks on the left side of the road.
I am sure when this area was originally settled one of the first orders of business after building shelter and securing stocks of food supplies was to establish a house of worship and a place that could be used to educate the young, often times these buildings were one in the same. If you look back through history it was the church property that also provided the final resting place for the faithful. Since the church was the major influence on the community and responsible for establishing and enforcing the core values of the towns people the caretakers of the cemeteries were usually members of the church and although it was rarely spoke of, the business of these cemeteries were often guarded and political in nature. It wasn't to be assumed that when one passed onto the afterlife that you would be guaranteed a plot within the gates of this revered property. To be denied entrance often brought shame and embarrassment to the family so the possibility of rejection was meant to serve as a deterrent from partaking in the evils of the world or going against the agenda or what some may call "the teachings of the church". These pulpit driven proclamations could have influenced the need to create alternatives such as public, ethnic, or culture based cemeteries or the private family cemeteries which are often thought were reserved for the privileged when in reality could of been started out of necessity that forced the family to make private arrangements for their heathen relatives. The following few paragraphs validate the impact on the citizens of the community, showing a annual business meeting held in some form or another for the past 137 years and the "acknowledgment" or credit given to those that contribute along with tax information so much for "The separation of church and state".
RAMAH CEMETERY DAY-SAT, JUNE 6, 2015
Sun, 05/31/2015 - 11:11am Ourtown1
--- Date:
Saturday, June 6, 2015 - 11:00am
Ramah Cemetery will be holding their annual cemetery gathering and business meeting on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Bring a covered dish for family fun and fellowship afterward.
The oldest marked grave found in Ramah Cemetery is dated 1878. This cemetery is located on land later deeded for burial by William Tell Pou. In 1909, William tell Pou deeded 3.6 acres of land to Ramah Church, with approxmently 3 acres used for the cemetery. J. E. Christian deeded an additional 1/3 acre in 1958. The Christian Broadcasting Company deeded another 2 acres as directed by William Tell Pou in 1979, along with another acre deed by Mattie Christian, et al, in the same year. At this time, 1979, the cemetery contained approximately 6 acres of land. In 1990, special improvements were made to the inside service road. This work was made possible due to donation made by the Corine Martindale Wood and the Winnie Mae Rich Families. Friends and family members often choose to express their respect in a more enduring way than with cards or flowers a receipt for tax purposes will be sent to donors. read more