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Farming For A Better Future, page 299
(Opposite) 1950 USGS Topographic Map Showing the Oak Grove Church and Cemetery (Top) Excerpt from the 1940 U.S. Census Showing the Household of Lee and Pearl French (Above) Students and Teachers of the Oak Grove School
The Oak Grove School took its name from a grove of oak trees next to the church. Most children received only a few months of school each year to learn the “Three R's” of
reading, writing, and arithmetic. In 1947, there were 37 students at Oak Grove School with Mrs. Esther W. Scott as teacher. That year seven students graduated the 6th grade and were planning on attending Trinity High School.
A large cemetery is situated to the east of the church. Over 250 individuals are buried here, the earliest being Charley Bell (1879-1903). Mrs. Esther W. French Scott (1908-1996) is laid to rest here along with her parents, Lee French (1883-1957) and Pearl Yarbrough French (1886-1959), who owned a farm in the area in 1940. Another African American landowner buried at Oak Grove CME Church Cemetery is Will Bright (18901967).
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Oakland Cemetery
Originally referred to as the Taylor-Pride Cemetery, the Oakland Cemetery is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Airport Road and Bee Line Highway, just south of Calhoun Community College (formerly Tennessee Valley State Vocational Technical School) and Pryor Field Regional Airport. The large African American cemetery has about 345 known graves. The first known interment Lis that of Rev. W.C. Morten (1848-1912).
Local African American farmer and landowner, Pleas Orr, Sr. (1870-1946) is buried here
with his parents, wife, and at least four of their children. Orr owned a farm in nearby Harris, or Harris Station, by 1920. Pleas Orr, Jr. (1907-1996) rented land from his half-brother, Lindsey G. Fields, at this time. Another landowner buried here is Elijah J. Pryor (1879-1968) and his wife, Fannie Mar Dortch Pryor (1889-2000). The Pryors owned and farmed land around Flint and the community of Cedar Lake in Morgan County in the early 20th century. By 1940, they had moved to the Harris area, where Mrs. Pryor was born. Other common surnames at the Oakland Cemetery include Anderson, Fletcher, Lucas, McLin, and Perry.
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