The Bassett-Belding-Gaines Cemetery, a small family cemetery in Garland County, Arkansas, was established c.1833 and was used until 1938. It contains approximately twenty marked graves from the 19th Century and an unknown number of unmarked graves. The graves are divided into four distinct family groups: Bassett, Belding, Gaines, and Simpson. The later group is believed to include a number of former slaves' burials. The cemetery contains the graves of some of the earliest settlers in the area, including Jonathan Bassett, the only known Revolutionary War soldier buried in Garland County. The grave was marked in 1968 by the Hot Springs of Arkansas and John Percifull Chapters, DAR. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

 

Jonathan Bassett (1764-1833), Revolutionary War Soldier from MA, and his wife, Temperance Crocker (1763-1833); their daughter and son-in-law, Lydia Bassett (1799-1864) and her husband, Ludovicus Belding (1792-1833), an 1812 War Veteran; and William H Gaines (1797-1894), an early area settler, and his 2nd wife, Maria Belding (1823-1890).

 

This is a small, abandoned cemetery. Although Mrs. Patty Adams, a former John Percifull Chapter member and daughter of Nelllie Rogers Maner, was believed to have been the most recent owner of the property, this was not verified by a search of land records. Surviving family members of the interred have declined to take an active role in its preservation. The John Percifull Chapter has sought to preserve the cemetery since the mid-1960s. Maintenance is funded through private donations and volunteer efforts by a coalition of DAR, Sons of the American Revolution, the U.S. Daughters of 1812, and the Hot Springs Lion Club.