Old Olive Cemetery

Uncovering and remembering the souls of the past in the Old Olive Cemetery

Members of the Infant Jesus council 7058 Lumberton TX, Tony Tantillo and Glen Cook were on a trip to pick up materials for a Knight event when Tony mentioned to Glen that there was once a cemetery on the route. Glen, being a historian, gathered some information and found the location of the Old Olive Cemetery.The cemetery was hidden by trees, vines and brush.Tony Tantillo, Glen Cook and Wayne Mougia began clearing the land and uncovered tombstones. They meet every Thursday to work on clearing the area. Pat Campo, Fred Bartz, Mike and Janet Harves would join to help the group with the clearing. Many passerbyers would notice them working and stop by to say hello, donate money and were very grateful we were restoring the graveyard.On occasion, the group would see that someone had stopped by to add flowers, and even American flags on the graves. An angel doll was added to a baby’s grave. Glen Cook had a sign made that was erected on the site to identify the cemetery.

History of the Old Olive Cemetery:

Olive was once a sawmill town and home of about 1,200 people between 1881 and 1912 for which the cemetery is named. The only evidence today of the community is the abandoned and thickly overgrown Old Olive cemetery.