McKnight Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to honor every word. Out here in Nacogdoches County, there's a patch of ground that started as one family's forever place and grew into something much bigger than that. The McKnight Cemetery.

And if you slow down long enough to listen, this piece of East Texas has got a whole lot to say. It began as a burial ground for the family of William Newton and Rebecca McKnight, with the oldest marked grave dating all the way back to the 1850s. That is old ground, friends.

Old, quiet, remembering ground. By the time the Civil War rolled through, the cemetery had opened its gates to other families, drawing in folks from nearby communities. Glenfawn.

Linn Flat. And a farming town called Toliver. Now Toliver had the makings of a fine little place, until the Texas and New Orleans Railroad came through the region and bypassed the community entirely.

When the rail line went elsewhere, so did the residents. They moved to neighboring Cushing, which was right there on the line, and Toliver declined. That's the kind of quiet tragedy nobody writes a ballad about, but it happened all the same.

A town here one generation, a memory the next. Then there was the McKnight Seminary, named for the cemetery's very founder, who donated the land for the institution. The seminary building had historic ties to the cemetery itself, serving not just as a place of learning but as a place of worship, and when the time came, a place where funeral services were held.

Learning and grief and faith, all under the same roof. Now the cemetery holds veterans, Confederate soldiers among them, and here is where the story takes a turn that might surprise you if you weren't paying attention. Also interred here is World War II R.A.F.

Wing Commander Lance C. Wade, a decorated fighter pilot. A Wing Commander.

In a family cemetery in Nacogdoches County. This ground does not give up its stories easily, but when it does, they reach further than you'd ever expect. And then there's the annual picnic.

It began early in the twentieth century, as these gatherings tend to do, neighbors finding a reason to come back to the old place. Over time it became something more, a homecoming celebration, a way of saying this land still matters, these names still matter, we still belong to each other. Today the McKnight Cemetery Association maintains the cemetery, and it continues to serve area residents.

Same ground. Same quiet purpose. The families of Glenfawn, Linn Flat, Toliver, and Cushing, and all the others who found their way here.

Still being remembered.

What the marker says

McKnight Cemetery began as a burial ground for the family of William Newton and Rebecca McKnight, with the oldest marked grave dating to the 1850s. By the Civil War, it opened to other families in nearby communities, including Glenfawn, Linn Flat and Toliver, a farming town that declined when the Texas and New Orleans Railroad bypassed the community, causing residents to move to neighboring Cushing, which was on the rail line. Another community revolved around the McKnight Seminary, named for the cemetery's founder who donated land for the institution. The McKnight Seminary building had historic ties to the cemetery, as it also served as a place of worship utilized for funeral services. There are a number of veterans interred here, including Confederate soldiers and World War II R.A.F. Wing Commander Lance C. Wade, a decorated fighter pilot. Also noteworthy is the cemtery's annual picnic, which began early in the 20th century and later became a homecoming celebration. Today, the McKnight Cemetery Association maintains the cemetery, which continues to serve area residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005