Pillot Cemetery
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A R R I S C O U N T Y |
Marker No: 12830
Aluminum 27 x 42 Subject Marker
Geographic: 30.064381, -95.603920
Location: Holderrieth Road near Cherry Street, Tomball
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Marker Text: The earliest known settler on Willow Creek was Frenchman Claude Nicholas Pillot (1793-1862), whose family immigrated to the United States in 1832 and to Texas in 1837 . He and his wife, Jeanne, established a home and farm in the area, and soon other French settlers joined them. Church services and school classes were held in private homes until permanent structures could be built.
This cemetery began as a family burial ground upon the death of August Pillot, 21-year-old son of Claude and Jeanne, in September 1844. The Pillot family plot remains the focal point of the graveyard. The large monument in the center of the plot was manufactured in France and shipped to Cypress for transportation to the cemetery. Although Claude Pillot died in New Orleans after a business trip, Jeanne died at home in 1866 and is buried in the family plot. Although there were a few burials over the next several decades, for the mos part the grave yard was untended. In 1939, efforts began to re-established the site as a community cemetery, and the last known burial took place in 1997. There are approximately 70 graves in the Pillot Cemetery, including three veterans of the civil war . Through its burials and tombstones, the cemetery is an important reflection of the area's history. (2002) |