Object description

Holly Grove Cemetery is a historic cemetery, located on the south side of Crooked Bayou Drive, 3 miles southeast of McGehee, Arkansas. The cemetery is the only surviving remnant of the community of Trippe Junction, established in 1857 by the families of William Fletcher Trippe and his brother-in-law Benjamin McGehee. A railroad spur line was constructed to the area in 1877, and a small town grew up around it. By the 1920s all of its businesses had failed, and by 1930 all but one building had succumbed to fire. The Holly Grove Methodist Church adjoined the cemetery, and was the site of many funeral services. The church was serving as a school when it burned in 1913. In 1958, a group of citizens raised money to assist with maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery. A bicentennial marker was erected by the Desha Historical Society in 1974. The southern section of the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.