Cottonwood Cemetery

Duane's take

The official marker for Cottonwood Cemetery in Kaufman County tells it this way, and I'll do my best to honor it. Now, every piece of ground has a beginning, and this one has a name attached to it: J. W.

Swayze. Back in 1882, he donated the land, and he didn't donate it for just one purpose. He gave it for a church building, a school house, and a cemetery.

Three things at once. That's the kind of settler who meant to put down roots. The cemetery didn't wait long to receive its first soul.

The first grave was that of J. R. Swayze, born in 1850, died in 1882.

A brother of the donor himself. You think about that for a moment. The man gives the land, and among the very first to rest in it is his own kin.

The ground was barely consecrated before it was needed in the most personal way possible. But Cottonwood Cemetery didn't stop there. It grew.

It now stretches to five acres, and that growth came the same way the whole thing started: through the generosity of the people connected to it. Bessie Goodman donated acreage from land belonging to her ancestor, C. L.

Tippett. J. A.

Hugghins gave property from the original Swayze tract. Both of those pioneers are buried right there on the grounds they helped expand. They gave to the place, and then the place received them.

And it's still being cared for. Descendants and friends have built fences, improved the roads, kept the grounds. Neighboring communities use it too.

It belongs, in a real sense, to more than one family, more than one town. Some places earn their keep just by enduring. Cottonwood Cemetery has been doing exactly that since 1882.

What the marker says

Established in 1882 on land donated by settler J. W. Swayze for a church building, school house, and cemetery. First grave was that of J. R. Swayze (1850-1882), a brother of the donor. Now enlarged to five acres, the cemetery includes acreage donated by Bessie Goodman from land of her ancestor, C. L. Tippett, as well as property given by J. A. Hugghins from Swayze tract. Both pioneers are buried here. The grounds are cared for by descendants and friends, who have built fences and improved roads. Cemetery is also used by other neighboring communities.