Titus County, Texas History - Historic Cemetery Preservation

Barrett Cemetery - a true success story!

For years, Barrett Cemetery, also known as the "blue light" cemetery, was overgrown and in danger of being lost. There were a number of sunken gravesites, trees had fallen on the fence surrounding the cemetery and badly damaged it, and monuments had toppled and broken. When the land surrounding Barrett was taken into the Luminant coal mine, access was restricted.

Mr. Billy Joe Lindsey and his son, Paul Lindsey, along with several other volunteers and donors, formed the Barrett Cemetery Association to save the cemetery from loss and restore it to the dignified burial place it should be. Titus County Commissioner Mike Fields helped the association to remove brush and undergrowth from the cemetery. Luminant removed the old fence for the association along with problem trees that had fallen or were in danger of falling and further damaging the cemetery. Then they leveled the land around the cemetery and built a very nice access road to it. Volunteers provided the labor and materials to build a new sign above the gate. Sunken graves were filled and monuments were uprighted and reset. Old marble monuments that could not be repaired were set flat in concrete on the ground. The cemetery is now clean and in very good condition. The cemetery association plans to build a new chain link fence around the cemetery soon.

The cemetery association encourages further interest from families and descendents of African-Americans buried in the cemetery to help with the restoration, particularly of the graves of their ancestors.

Titus Cemetery Search and the Titus County History Website congratulates the Barrett Cemetery Association, Commissioner Mike Fields and his crew, Luminant, and all the volunteers and donors who took action on their own to preserve and restore Barrett Cemetery! We hope more families and companies will take a hands-on and financial interest in helping to restore endangered Titus County cemeteries by following the Barrett Cemetery Association's lead.

Lev Old Cemetery Cleaned - thanks to AEP/SWEPCO!

The Lev Old Cemetery was named for the earlier land owner who granted it as a cemetery before the Civil War. Until recently, the Old family owned the land it is located on, but the land was sold to AEP/SWEPCO for their use in creating the Welsh Reservoir and power generating plant.

On David Horton's previous survey in March, 2002, the cemetery appeared not to have been maintained in several years. It had deteriorated greatly with fallen trees, limbs, and underbrush effectively covering some graves. Many monuments had been broken by the environment with a significant loss of historical data inscribed on them. Monuments lying on the ground were suffering erosion by the elements.

When Titus Cemetery Search surveyed the cemetery on December 16, 2006 we found that AEP/SWEPCO had cut away the fallen trees and limbs and piled them in one corner of the cemetery. They also removed some trees that would cause future problems and have cleared away underbrush. The cemetery is now clean and is in good condition, other than monuments that were damaged before they cleaned it up.

Titus Cemetery Search and the Titus County History Website thanks and congratulates AEP/SWEPCO for their efforts in preserving this endangered cemetery! They are an excellent example of a responsible land owner who is helping preserve cemeteries located on their land as a dignified resting place for early Titus County residents and also helping to preserve Titus County's history. We hope that more landowners, both private individuals and corporations, will soon follow their lead.

Traylor Cemetery - the endangered cemetery that never was due to the caring owner of the H&R Ranch!

The Traylor Cemetery is a small family cemetery located on the H & R Ranch on Texas Highway 49. To our knowledge, Traylor Cemetery was never endangered. We include it here as a sterling example of how private Titus County cemeteries should be kept.

The cemetery is located on a knowl in the woods and is hidden from easy public view. The owner of the H & R Ranch has taken the time and effort to care for a cemetery he "inherited" when he purchased the land.

Marked graves in the Traylor Cemetery are enclosed by a chain link fence that was part of the original cemetery, but a number of unmarked graves thought to belong to slaves are known to be located in an area outside the fence. The landowner has gone the extra mile to preserve the entire cemetery in A-1 condition. There is no brush or undergrowth anywhere. The grass is mowed, and new grass in perfect rows shows that the landowner has gone the extra mile to plant grasses that will be attractive and easily maintained to add beauty to the little cemetery.

He didn't have to do this. Unless we brought attention to it, the cemetery is out of sight and most people probably would never know it exists.

Titus Cemetery Search and the Titus County History Website thanks and congratulates the owner of the H & R Ranch for the excellent care of this small family cemetery. You are an example of the way things should be and have set an example that other landowners who have a cemetery located on their property should emulate.

Emerson Cemetery - our thanks to Luminant!

Emerson Cemetery is a small family cemetery that is now located deep inside Luminant's Winfield South Mine. The cemetery is fenced with chain link fence, but could have been easily allowed to become overgrown and lost among all of the activity around it.

Instead, Luminant cleans the cemetery and the grounds around it outside the fence each year. They remove any new undergrowth, mow the cemetery, and poison weeds and undergrowth to keep it from returning.

Titus Cemetery Search and the Titus County History Website congratulates and appreciates Luminant for the care they show for cemeteries located on their property, and for the help that they have provided to the Barrett Cemetery Association. Luminant is a fine example of good corporate citizenship in Titus County.

Kirby Cemetery - our thanks to

Titus County Commissioner Bob Fitch and his crew!

Kirby Cemetery is a small family cemetery that is located on Dan Acker's land on the Old Paris Road. The cemetery is fenced by a late 1800's-early 1900's wrought iron fence that was in danger of being damaged by falling tree limbs. There are possibly four burials there, but only one mounument could be found and it had fallen and was partially buried from years of lying on the ground. The gate could not be opened or closed as it had gradually become sunken into the ground, too.

On February 23, 2007, Titus County Commissioner Bob Fitch took his crew to the cemetery and removed the trees. They dug out the monument and stood it up again, and will clean the maker in the future. They removed debris from around the cemetery and dug out the wrought iron gate so it could be closed again. They used string trimmers to trim the grass inside the cemetery.

Titus Cemetery Search and the Titus County History Website appreciates Commissioner Bob Fitch and his crew for their work in preserving this historic cemetery, and Mr. Dan Acker for giving them his permission to do so.

We feel that cemetery preservation is first and foremost the responsibility of family members of those who are buried in the cemetery. However, families have not worked to preserve several Titus County cemeteries that are now in danger or being lost or further damaged. In some cases, like this one, there may be no family members left to do the work. For others, it shows a lack of concern on the part of the families. Either way, the cemeteries are being lost.

In view of this, we contacted our Titus County Commissioners about helping preserve this part of Titus County's history, as well as returning the cemeteries to the dignified final resting places they should be. Each Commissioner we have spoken with has been willing to help.

Mr. Fitch did not want us to publicize his work, as he considers it to be part of his job. However, we think the people of Titus County should know that each Commissioner with whom we have spoken has expressed an interest in doing what they can to preserve Titus County's historic cemeteries when the cemetery does not have anyone to care for it and is in danger of being lost. We appreciate the cooperation shown by our Commissioners who have agreed to help preserve other historic Titus County cemeteries that are located in their precincts as soon as landowner's permission can be obtained to do the necessary work on them.

Even when the Commissioners do what they can, more work will need to be done. We invite the public and civic organizations to become involved in our effort to preserve Titus County's historic cemeteries. Please contact us for more information if you're interested in helping.

Evans Cemetery

Our thanks to Titus County Commissioner

Thomas Hockaday and his crew!

Evans Cemetery is a small family cemetery located on private property surrounded by pastures. The fence had deterioated and cattle had gotten into the cemetery through two breaches in the fence. The cattle knocked over several monuments, causing several hundred dollars in damage.

On February 28, 2007, Commissioner Thomas Hockaday took his crew to the cemetery and repaired the fallen fences, which will keep cattle from doing further damage to the cemetery.

Titus Cemetery Search and the Titus History Website thank Titus County Commissioner Thomas Hockaday and his crew for repairing the fence around Evans Cemetery to keep cattle from further damaging the cemetery. We contacted family members in West Texas who said they would like to restore the cemetery so that they can begin their work to have the monuments uprighted and reset and do other necessary work as they deem necessary.

Cress Cemetery

Thanks to Jimmy Stacks and Michael Griffin!

Cress Cemetery was overgrown and in danger of being lost. While there is only one marked grave in the cemetery, it is a rather large family and public cemetery located near the end of Titus County Road 2222 south of Mt. Pleasant. The lone marked grave belongs to A.M. Cress, but family members have become too old to be able to keep it up and the grave was overgrown with saplings and vines.

On March 4, 2007, Jimmy Stacks and his grandson, Michael Griffin, cleaned the saplings and vines from out of the fence surrounding the lone marked grave and out of the surrounding field for several feet from the fence. It is impossible to locate the other graves since the natural stones marking them were removed long ago.