Pearce Chapel - Strip Cemetery

The only landmark of the Strip Community, named for its location on a 1.5 by 15-mile strip of land opened to homesteaders in the 1890s. William Houston Pearce (1844-1926) moved into the area in 1895 and started a school, called "Round-Top", or "Strip". Small groups began to worship in the schoolhouse, and one congregation formed Pearce Chapel Methodist Church. F. E. Andrews (1857-1898) gave a cemetery tract in 1898, and late that year his was the first grave. Strip Post Office opened in 1904 with Postmaster Jerry W. Turner handling the mail in his home. In 1906, a Union Church was built near the cemetery site, which was purchased by public subscription in 1907, in order to clear the title. In 1910 the Strip Post Office closed after service was made available in Abernathy. The school and church buildings were moved to Lakeview in succeeding years, but this cemetery continues to be used. By 1973 it had 180 graves. War veterans buried here include two Confederate soldiers, James E. Fitzgerald and William Houston Pearce; World War I veterans George W. Fitzgerald, George Harkness, and Leroy Mahagan; World War II veterans Thomas L. Goldston, Harvey Shelby Pittman, and John Fred Sherman. 1974

Pearce Chapel - Strip Cemetery is a historical marker in Abernathy, Hale County, dedicated in 1974. It is one of 39 historical markers documented in Hale County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 43 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.8559, -101.7739 near Abernathy. The nearest cataloged historic site is Lakeview School and Community (historical marker), about 2.6 miles away. Others within a short drive include Abernathy, Struve Family Businesses, and Petersburg.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5189003960. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.