Hansel Wright (1773-1856) came to East Texas in 1836 and was granted land for service in the Republic of Texas Army. In 1846 he moved his family to this area and used a portion of his land to establish the cemetery at this site. The oldest marked grave is that of an infant, Neva Richards, who died in 1852. For many years the cemetery served nearby "Wright's Meetinghouse," a Methodist Church also used as a schoolhouse. As the burial ground of a pioneer area family, Wright's Cemetery serves as a reminder of early settlers of Rusk County.