African Heritage Outreach, Community, Volunteer

Historic Black Cemetery Gets Facelift

Updated on June 1, 2023
by Mary Ann Taylor

Wood Creek Cemetery in Lancaster, Texas benefits from east-side families with long memories and volunteers with kind hearts

Featured Photo by Patricia Kemper.

“This is my maternal grandmother,” Ronnie Barnett explains. “I remember her when we were kids, but unfortunately she got sick and died when I was around five or six years old. My grandfather is right next to her, but his headstone has gone missing.” Along with both sets of grandparents, Barnett has quite a few uncles and aunts, cousins, and friends who lie at rest in Wood Creek Cemetery in Lancaster, a small town in southeast Dallas County. Owned by the families from the east side of the community, it is not under perpetual care, so a small group of volunteers along with Mr. Barnett provide upkeep.

It’s popular to say that love is a verb, but it’s also a promise.

The history of Wood Creek goes back decades. Death certificates and obituaries list it as Lancaster Colored Cemetery or Edgewood Colored Cemetery. Until a recent request to BillionGraves, nothing identified it as separate from the larger Edgewood Cemetery across the road.

Vandalism was an issue until the family persuaded the city to assist in efforts to keep the easement clear. A few headstones have toppled, the most prominent face down, so the name cannot be read. Weighing hundreds of pounds, the stone will need a forklift to set it back on its base. “It won’t budge,” Mr. Barnett explains.

It’s a bright, warm May morning the Saturday before Memorial Day. Yellow buttercups dot the meadow-like setting. The weather is much different from the late April day when temperatures plunged to 52 degrees and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and friends bundled up to assist Mr. Barnett with a variety of tasks: uncovering soil- or grass-covered gravestones, taking pictures so the data can be digitized, applying a specialized chemical to remove lichen and mold safely, and clearing brush from the back of the property.

A month later, the chemical (D/2) has begun its work. The cleaning and preservation of headstones take care. For decades, D/2 was used to restore and maintain buildings and monuments worldwide—including the White House and the Alamo. Another application for some of the stones continues the slow process of what will eventually reveal more names and dates.

Mr. Barnett continues the walk through the property as grass cuttings are swept and photos are taken for uploading on BillionGraves.com. The site allows for the GPS location of the graves once the images are uploaded. Today, 131 photos further that work. Barnett knows many who rest at Edgewood—the Sunday school superintendent, a woman who worked in the school cafeteria, a barber, the church pianist. Mr. Barnett will often say of someone, “She was a good woman.” He notes that the military headstones signify veterans who could have been buried in national cemeteries but chose to be near family.

Some of Mr. Barnett’s stories are sadder. Four members of a family perished in a 1975 fire. Cameo portraits of the toddlers still look up almost 50 years later. Another family had a father, his junior, and the third generation young man with the same name who died young; his gravestone has a football and uniform number carved in a corner.

Work of two kinds remains. One involves physical labor; the other requires hearts.

A stream runs beneath Wood Creek, and the subterranean moisture softens the ground. The family still finds markers that have sunk a few inches below the surface of the grass. A little digging results in a sharp clank when the shovel meets the stone. No one knows how many stones have met this fate. At the back of the property, Mr. Barnett’s 80+-year-old uncle believes graves are hidden in the thick brush behind the clearing. Finally, plans are underway for adding signage to designate the cemetery as separate from Edgewood, perhaps a wrought iron gate at the entrance.

The second of Mr. Barnett’s goals is to encourage more family members to take up the cause of caring for their loved ones’ graves. Tending to them would lighten his load. Others can help, of course. Church of Jesus Christ members plan to continue assisting after digitizing graves. Outreach may find others in the community willing to give of their time. Many may not know that this historical cemetery even exists or that its compelling story needs to be shared.

Wood Creek is an active cemetery with a grave prepared for a funeral Saturday afternoon. The memory of that passing is new, but others must honor the IN LOVING MEMORY carved on older headstones. It’s popular to say that love is a verb, but it’s also a promise. Helping the Barnetts is satisfying for many reasons. As members of the human family, we all can share in this effort.