McWilliams Cemetery

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it — and the marker's word is all I'm going on here — this is the story of a burial ground, a community, and the people who made both worth remembering. Out in Shelby County, there's a place called Todd Springs. Named for a landowner, John D.

Todd, and the springs on that land. The community was largely populated by African Americans, and it runs deep — deeper than most folks passing through would ever guess. The burial ground at the heart of this story went by two names before it settled into the one it carries now.

First it was called Wayfare. Then McWilliams Graveyard. And here's the thing about that second name — the man it honors, Robert McWilliams, isn't even buried there.

McWilliams was an Irishman who came to this part of Texas from South Carolina in 1843, bringing with him his wife Mary and his family. He owned a plantation in the area before the Civil War. He died in 1864.

And when they laid him to rest, it was in a place called Rather Cemetery, not far off. So his name sits over a graveyard that holds somebody else's people. That's the kind of detail that makes you stop and think a moment.

Before the war, there were plantations working this land. After it, freedmen stayed on — many of them farming right here in Todd Springs, others making their way to Center, Shelbyville, and San Augustine to labor there. They built something.

By the early 1900s, Todd Springs was thriving — several businesses, an African American school, a lodge. A genuine community with roots and reasons to stay. Then the 1930s came.

Then the 1940s. And like so many small communities across Texas, Todd Springs watched its people leave for the cities. The population declined.

The businesses quieted down. But the cemetery stayed. The ground itself was officially established when N.K. and E.L.

Boozer deeded the property to trustees — though folks had already been burying their dead here before that deed was ever signed. The oldest marked grave belongs to Fennie McClelland, dating to 1903. But the marker is careful to note that belief runs strong there are earlier burials here, unmarked, waiting in the earth without a stone to say their names.

The people interred in McWilliams Cemetery are farmers, preachers, community leaders, veterans — men who served in conflicts going back to World War I. There are teachers buried here too, including Johnny W. Lee, who also served as a school administrator.

The cemetery features obelisks, grave slabs, and Masonic lodge markers standing among the trees. Today, it's the McWilliams Cemetery Association keeping this ground. Tending it.

Making sure it doesn't disappear the way the community around it faded. Because what's here, underneath those obelisks and slabs and lodge markers, is the record of African American pioneer families who settled Todd Springs and made it worth naming on a map. A graveyard called Wayfare.

Then McWilliams. Carrying the name of a man buried somewhere else, while holding the true history of the people who were always here.

What the marker says

This burial ground, originally known as Wayfare and later as McWilliams Graveyard, has served the Todd Springs community since early in the settlement's history. The community, named for landowner John D. Todd and area springs, was largely populated by African Americans. Before the Civil War, there were plantations in the area, including one owned by Irishman Robert McWilliams, who came here with wife Mary and his family from South Carolina in 1843. McWilliams died in 1864 and although this burial ground is named for him, he is buried in nearby Rather Cemetery. After the Civil War, many freedmen worked in the area as farmers; others labored in Center, Shelbyville and San Augustine. During the early 1900s, Todd Springs was a thriving community, with several businesses, an African American school and a lodge. However, the population declined during the 1930s and 1940s, as many residents moved to urban areas.This burial ground was officially established when N.K. and E.L. Boozer deeded property to trustees, although the land was used as a cemetery before that time. The oldest marked grave in McWilliams Cemetery, of Fennie McClelland, dates to 1903; however, it is believed there are a number of earlier, unmarked burials here. Others interred include farmers, preachers, community leaders and veterans of conflicts dating to World War I. There are also a number of teachers buried here, including Johnny W. Lee, who also served as a school administrator. The cemetery features obelisks, grave slabs and Masonic lodge markers. Today, the McWilliams Cemetery Association maintains this burial ground, whose graves provide a record of African American pioneer families that settled Todd Springs.Historic Texas Cemetery-2007