SPARKS SETTLEMENT
AURORA
John and Solomon selected the site, a 50 by 50 square which was a short distance
from John's home, for their family burial plots. Today a 4' stone monument marks
the cemetery site at the junction of DeQueen Blvd and Lakeshore Dr in Port Arthur.
A part of the burial ground is now covered with the pavement of DeQueen Blvd.
Balance lies under a big hackberry tree which stands just north of the two streets.
The site is marked by a beautifully-cut granite headstone identifying the grave of
the infant, Arthur Stilwell Smith.
Arthur Stillwell Smith was the son of Mr & Mrs Morgan Smith who had loaded their
household effects into a covered wagon and traveled slowly and laboriously to the
new town from their home in the Indian Territory. Their son was born in a tent near
Lakeshore and Houston Avenue soon after their arrival, and he lived only ten days.
He had been named after the new seaport's benefactor, Arthur Stilwell. All of the
residents attended the town's first funeral, and the tiny casket was buried in the
Old Sparks Cemetery. The marker at this site today was placed here in 1948 by the
Port Arthur Teen Canteen members.