Stranger Community, Cemetery and Churches

This community was originally settled as Blue Ridge prior to 1850. Thomas McKissick Garrett donated land (two miles northeast) for the establishment of a school, church, and Garrett Cemetery. With the estate settlement following his death in 1862, the property was removed from public use. This location was donated by David Barclay and two grandsons of Thomas Garrett, James Franklin Erskine and Thomas Jasper Erskine. The name Stranger was suggested by a visiting Frenchman about 1870. Buildings for a Methodist-Presbyterian Union Church and a Baptist church were conducted in July 1869. The first school classes were conducted in the new sanctuaries. By 1877 the Union Academy and Union School had become public free schools. A separate schoolhouse (1/4 mile northeast) was constructed in 1902. Stranger once had a cotton gin, stock dipping vat, doctors, general stores, blacksmith shop, stagecoach inn, and mills, but only the cemetery and church buildings remain. The sanctuaries, where services were conducted until 1960, are now used for the biannual homecoming activities. (1980)

Stranger Community, Cemetery and Churches is a historical marker in Marlin, Falls County, dedicated in 1980. It is one of 64 historical markers documented in Falls County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 70 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.3251, -96.7261 near Marlin. The nearest cataloged historic site is Hopewell (cemetery), about 3.0 miles away. Others within a short drive include Blue Ridge Baptist Church, Long Branch Cemetery, and Silvia King.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5145005136. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.