Rico Community Cemetery at Providence Baptist Church
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The Rico Community Cemetery is located on the property of Providence Baptist Church at 6402 Campbellton Redwine Rd, near the corner of Campbellton Redwine and Rico Roads.
History - When this area was settled in the early 1800’s, Piney Woods Primitive Baptist Church was built on Kite Road as a one-room log cabin. Early settlers buried in the Piney Woods Cemetery near the church included the Ballards, Smiths, Yates, Lovelaces, Barfields, Burans, Garretts and others. On one side of the burial ground are the graves of the Negro slaves of these families. In 1852 the new church, now called Providence Baptist Church, was built on land deeded by Mrs. Buran. In later years Mr. Jewett Shannon deeded a total of one acre of land to be used as a community cemetery. (1. We Wanted to be Called Green Eyes, By: Helen Collins Selman.) According to the administrators of the Rico Cemetery, this is a community cemetery, not specifically the Providence Baptist Church Cemetery; however, burial in the cemetery is limited to members of Providence Baptist Church and Rico United Methodist Church and their family members. As of February 2018, there are 610 grave markers in the cemetery, including 90 unmarked stones. |