Maypearl Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Maypearl Cemetery, out here in Ellis County. Every word comes straight from that inscription, so settle in and let the story speak for itself. Now, every cemetery has an origin, and this one starts the way a lot of things in Texas start: with a railroad.

The community of Maypearl came into being along the International and Great Northern Railroad line in 1903. A town takes root, people arrive, life gets going. And then, as life always does, it presents its other side.

In 1907, a landowner named William P. Wilemon died. He was buried right there on his own farm, the way folks sometimes were in those days, and that burial started a conversation among the citizens of Maypearl.

If one man could be laid to rest here, maybe the community needed a proper place for all its people. Wilemon's widow, Minnie, made that conversation into something real. She sold four acres of land, including the very spot where her husband was buried, to three trustees: J.

P. Claunch, A. W.

Dowd, and Isaac Griffith. Four acres, a widow's decision, three names on a deed. That's how a cemetery gets its ground.

And what ground it became. The Maypearl Cemetery holds doctors, business owners, teachers, and farmers. Members of fraternal organizations found their rest here too.

The tombstones tell of men who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean conflict, and Vietnam. Generation after generation, war after war. In the latter part of the twentieth century, the descendants of William and Minnie Wilemon, along with the descendants of Betha Jackson, donated additional land so the cemetery could keep growing alongside the community it serves.

That's the thing about a place like this. It started with one man buried on his own farm, a widow who made a practical and generous decision, and three trustees who signed their names. And now it stands as a testament, the marker says, to everyone who lived and worked in this part of Ellis County.

The whole sweep of a community, right there in the soil.

What the marker says

The community of Maypearl was established on the International and Great Northern Railroad line in 1903. The 1907 death of landowner William P. Wilemon and subsequent burial on his farm led Maypearl citizens to discuss the establishment of a cemetery for the community. Wilemon's widow, Minnie, sold four acres of land, including the burial site of her husband, to trustees J. P. Claunch, A. W. Dowd and Isaac Griffith for that purpose. The Maypearl Cemetery stands as a testament to the people who lived and worked in the community, including doctors, business owners, teachers and farmers. Members of various fraternal organizations rest here as well. Tombstones mark the graves of military veterans, including those who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean conflict and Vietnam. In the latter part of the 20th century, the descendants of William and Minnie Wilemon and Betha Jackson donated additional land for the graveyard. As a reflection of the community's heritage, the Maypearl Cemetery is a significant reminder of the history of this part of Ellis County. (2001)