DUANE
Duane's take
The marker for Harris Creek Cemetery in Smith County tells it this way, and I'm just along for the ride. Now, before there was a Winona, before there was a Mount Carmel worth speaking of, there was a creek. And along that creek, at a place called Lott's Spring — east of a Methodist Church camp ground — something took root in October of 1849.
Fifteen charter members gathered and organized Harris Creek Baptist Church. They elected elder William H. Ray as their pastor.
Ray was not exactly new to this kind of work. He'd organized the First Baptist Church of Tyler the previous year, and he preached at Harris Creek for two years before resigning to go form other Baptist churches around Smith County. The man had a pattern.
That original spot by the creek, though — the land had ideas of its own. Severe flooding pushed the congregation to move the church here, to the Mount Carmel community, in 1852. And here is where the story gets complicated in ways we shouldn't gloss over.
Anglo members and their African-American slaves worshiped together in one building, seated separately. That's the plain fact of it, and it deserves to sit in the air for a moment. The building pulled double duty as a schoolhouse, and on the adjacent land, a cemetery quietly began.
The earliest documented burial there belongs to John Brownlee Clinkscales, a native of South Carolina. He signed his will the same day he died — January 4th, 1857. Whatever kind of man he was, he was thorough right up to the end.
Mount Carmel had its season. But after the Civil War, the community began to decline. Then in 1876, an extension of the Tyler Tap Railroad came through and established the nearby town of Winona, and the gravity of things shifted in that direction.
The cemetery didn't get forgotten, though. In October of 1909, the Harris Creek Memorial Association formed, with James T. Kay of Winona as chairman.
The association has been holding annual meetings ever since — usually a worship service and a picnic dinner, which, if you ask me, is about as sensible a combination as East Texas has ever produced. In 1948, Winona Baptist Church — formerly Harris Creek Baptist Church — deeded the cemetery over to the Harris Creek Memorial Association. And the tombstones standing out there tell a wide sweep of American history.
Marble, sandstone, concrete, metal — they mark members of several fraternal organizations and veterans of conflicts stretching all the way from the War of 1812 to Vietnam. That's a long arc of service laid down in one quiet rural ground. The setting itself is something to take in — deciduous trees, some cedars, native grass with plantings here and there.
Many of the family plots are enclosed by concrete curbs, some with iron fencing. Several hundred graves, and the place is still in use today. Harris Creek Cemetery endures as a record of Mount Carmel, Winona, and the communities that grew up in their shadow — the people who built churches in river bottoms, moved when the water rose, buried their dead carefully, and kept coming back every year for worship and a meal together.
Fifteen charter members started something in 1849 that's still going. That's not nothing.
What the marker says
Harris Creek Baptist Church organized in Oct. 1849, with 15 charter members and elder William H. Ray elected as pastor. Ray, who organized the First Baptist Church of Tyler the previous year, preached at Harris Creek for two years before resigning to form other Baptist churches in Smith County. The original location was along the creek at Lott's Spring, near the Methodist Church camp ground east of this site. After severe flooding, members moved the church here, in the Mount Carmel community, in 1852. Anglo members and their African-American slaves worshiped together in one building while seated separately. The church building also served as a schoolhouse, and a cemetery began on adjacent land. The earliest documented burial in Harris Creek Cemetery is of South Carolina native John Brownlee Clinkscales, who signed his will the same day he died on Jan. 4, 1857. Mount Carmel declined after the Civil War, and an extension of the Tyler Tap Railroad established the nearby town of Winona in 1876. Harris Creek Memorial Association formed in Oct. 1909, with James T. Kay of Winona as chairman. The association continues to hold an annual meeting, which usually includes worship service and a picnic dinner. Winona Baptist Church (formerly Harris Creek Baptist Church) deeded the cemetery to Harris Creek Memorial Association in 1948. Tombstones made of marble, sandstone, concrete and metal chronicle several fraternal organizations and veterans of conflicts dating from the War of 1812 to Vietnam. The rural setting includes deciduous trees, some cedars, and native grass with some plantings. Many family plots are enclosed by concrete curbs, and some have iron fencing. Today, this burial ground of several hundred graves remains in use and recalls the contributions of citizens of Mount Carmel, Winona and other nearby communities.