History of the Myra Wilson chapel
Myra Wilson Chapel
Debord Street, Sulphur Springs
Marker Erected: No marker
“Mrs. Myra Jane Tuggle Wilson was born in 1860, in the Tuggle Springs Community of Red River County. She was named after her grandfather, Andrew Jackson Tuggle. Myra was only three years old when her father, John W. Tuggle, was killed while fighting in the battle of Vicksburg, with the 29th Texas Cavalry. The widow Tuggle, Myra’s mother, later married William North, and the family first moved to Jefferson, Texas, and then to Hopkins County in 1869.
“Myra Wilson had a passion: that the Sulphur Springs City Cemetery needed care. The Ladies Cemetery Society of Sulphur Springs had been formed in 1887 and three years after its formation, in 1890, Myra became president of the society. She hardly knew that her passion would drive her to serve in that capacity for the next 43 years. Myra, through her leadership and guidance, brought the town’s cemetery from what was described as “a briar patch of stones and burial plots,” to what we know today as one of beauty.
“In 1923, banker Phil H. Foscure, president of First National Bank, loaned the Cemetery Society $10,000.00 to build the chapel in Sulphur Springs City Cemetery, so that funerals could be held in a covered place. Members of the society and community chose to honor Myra and named the building the “Myra Wilson Chapel.”
Myra continued to work toward the beautification of the local cemetery for the remainder of her days. She passed away on December 27, 1941, and her funeral was conducted in the chapel that bore her name.
Images courtesy Sulphur Springs City Cemetery & Hopkins County Genealogical Society. Text by Geocaching Famous People series.
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