Duren Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Duren Cemetery, out in Mills County. Pull over if you want, because this one starts small and grows into something worth sitting with. In 1876, Philip David Duren bought 390.5 acres and built himself a log home right here on this ground.

Then he went and brought his family out from Houston County to join him, including a newborn daughter named Willie Lee. She was new to the world, and this new home was new to her. But Willie Lee died in September of 1878, and she became the first burial in what would one day be called Duren Cemetery.

That's where this story begins, and it sets a particular tone, doesn't it. A man stakes his claim, builds his home, brings his people, and the very first thing this ground receives is the most tender loss a family can suffer. Now, Philip David Duren could have kept this land close and personal after that.

A lot of men would have. But that's not the direction he went. In 1893, Duren deeded five acres surrounding the site for school purposes.

The Duren school opened and operated all the way until 1947. And Pompey Mountain Church, which also took root on that ground, still serves the area to this day. Then in 1912, Duren came back around and reaffirmed the public nature of the place in a new deed.

That deed stipulated free burial plots and a church open to different denominations. He put it in writing twice. That's a man who meant what he said.

The cemetery itself still carries the marks of care across the generations, metal and stone gates, curbing, interior fencing, and gravestones of limestone, marble, and granite. Several hundred burials now rest here on land that Philip David Duren bought for 390.5 acres and chose, deliberately and repeatedly, to give back. It started with one little girl named Willie Lee.

And it grew into a community's common ground.

What the marker says

In 1876, Philip David Duren bought 390.5 acres here and built a log home. He later brought his family, including newborn daughter Willie Lee, from Houston county to their new home. Willie Lee died in Sep. 1878 and was the first burial here. In 1893, Duren deeded the surrounding five acres "for school purposes;" Duren school operated until 1947 and Pompey Mountain Church still serves the area. In 1912, Duren reaffirmed public use of the site in a new deed which stipulated free burial plots and a church open to different denominations. Historic cemetery features include metal and stone gates, curbing, interior fencing, and limestone, marble and granite gravestones. Duren cemetery now numbers several hundred burials.