John S Buckner (1806-1870), his wife, Mariah T. (d.1874), and their two sons, Arthur Washington (1828-1894) and Mumford Jackson (1831-1872), traveled from Georgia and settled in this area before 1850. As the family and community grew, this site was set aside as a burial ground. John was one of the first to be laid to rest here in 1870. Both Buckner sons served the Confederacy during the Civil War. Mumford enlisted in Johnson's Brigade, 1st Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers, and later served in the Texas Cavalry. Arthur was part of Company C, 1st Texas Infantry and was at Appamattox, Va., on April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered. He returned to his businesses in Pinehill where he ran a sawmill with his father, as well as a general store and cotton gin. One of his daughters, May Buckner Hillin (1869-1966), is remembered for her response to an 1892 incident in which a man was stabbed at a local drugstore that secretly sold whiskey. She led the women of Pinehill to the site, where they broke up the whiskey containers with axes. The Buckner Cemetery chronicles these pioneers, veterans and the generations that have contributed to the development of the Pinehill area of rusk County. A trust fund created in 1974 provides for its upkeep.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2001