DUANE
Duane's take
The marker out here in Cherokee County tells it like this, and I'm gonna pass it along to you just as it stands. Back in the 1850s, settlers came rolling into East Texas from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas — families by the names of Blanton, Braly, Dickey, Langston, Long, Musick, Shaw, Stockton, and Thomas. They put down roots and established what they called the Pine Springs Community.
In time, that community would come to be known as Mixon. Now right away you get a sense of people who meant to stay. These weren't folks passin' through.
In 1853, a man named Josiah Thomas made that plain in the most permanent way he knew how — he dedicated nine point seven acres of land on the western side of his two-thirds league of a headright, setting it aside specifically for churches and religious purposes. Nine point seven acres, carved right out of what was his, given over to something bigger than any one man. The land changed hands several times after that, as land tends to do, until a deed dated May 22, 1883, conveyed that same tract from S.
A. and F. M. Braly to three trustees — S.
K. Braly, Moses Langston, and L. T.
Willingham — representing three local congregations: Methodist Episcopal South, Cumberland Presbyterian, and Missionary Baptist. Three churches, three trustees, one piece of ground. The oldest marked grave in Mixon Cemetery belongs to Octavio Braly, born April 11, 1853, and gone by June 12, 1854.
Just over a year on this earth. That little grave, and many of the oldest burial sites out here, are marked not with carved stone but with local red iron ore rock — what the land itself offered up. And tradition holds there may also be unmarked graves for members of local Indian tribes, their presence acknowledged even where names are lost.
Then there are the veterans. More than a hundred and twenty-five of them have marked graves in this cemetery, soldiers spanning from the War of 1812 all the way to the present. Among them, twenty-two Confederate soldiers, many of whom served in Company G, 22nd Regiment of the Texas Infantry.
More than a century of American conflict, remembered in one field in Cherokee County. Walk among the gravestones and you'll find limestone, you'll find granite, and you'll find large obelisks rising up alongside Woodmen of the World markers — those distinctive tree-trunk stones that have their own quiet poetry to them. In the 1940s, brick columns and a metal archway were placed along the perimeter, framing the entrance to all of that history.
The ground itself tells its own story — scraped earth until the 1950s, and mowed grass from that time forward, tended and kept. The Mixon Cemetery Association Board still meets its obligations to this place, making sure the traditions of the founders carry on while active burials continue to this day. Every year, a memorial service and dinner bring the community back together on this ground.
Josiah Thomas gave nine point seven acres to something that would outlast him. Turns out, he gave it to all of us.
What the marker says
MIXON CEMETERY SETTLERS FROM TENNESSEE, ALABAMA, GEORGIA AND THE CAROLINAS, INCLUDING THE BLANTON, BRALY, DICKEY, LANGSTON, LONG, MUSICK, SHAW, STOCKTON AND THOMAS FAMILIES, ESTABLISHED PINE SPRINGS COMMUNITY (LATER MIXON) IN THE 1850s. IN 1853, JOSIAH THOMAS DEDICATED 9.7 ACRES OF LAND ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF HIS TWO-THIRDS LEAGUE OF A HEADRIGHT FOR CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS PURPOSES. AFTER THE LAND CHANGED HANDS SEVERAL TIMES, A MAY 22, 1883 DEED CONVEYED THE TRACT FROM S. A. AND F. M. BRALY TO THREE TRUSTEES, S. K. BRALY, MOSES LANGSTON, AND L. T. WILLINGHAM, REPRESENTING THE LOCAL CHURCHES - METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOUTH, CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN AND MISSIONARY BAPTIST. THE OLDEST MARKED GRAVE IN MIXON CEMETERY IS FOR OCTAVIO BRALY (APR. 11, 1853 - JUN. 12, 1854). MANY OF THE OLDEST BURIAL SITES ARE MARKED WITH LOCAL RED IRON ORE ROCK. TRADITION STATES THERE ALSO MAY BE UNMARKED GRAVES FOR MEMBERS OF LOCAL INDIAN TRIBES. MORE THAN 125 VETERANS HAVE MARKED GRAVES, INCLUDING SOLDIERS FROM THE WAR OF 1812 TO PRESENT. MANY OF THE 22 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS BURIED HERE SERVED IN COMPANY G, 22ND REGIMENT OF THE TEXAS INFANTRY. GRAVESTONE MATERIALS INCLUDE LIMESTONE AND GRANITE. MANY LARGE OBELISKS AND WOODMEN OF THE WORLD MARKERS ARE PROMINENT. IN THE 1940s, BRICK COLUMNS AND A METAL ARCHWAY WERE PLACED ALONG THE PERIMETER. THE LANDSCAPE WAS SCRAPED EARTH UNTIL THE 1950s, AND HAS BEEN MOWED GRASS SINCE THAT TIME. THE MIXON CEMETERY ASSOCIATION BOARD ENSURES THAT THE TRADITIONS OF THE FOUNDERS CONTINUE WHILE ACTIVE BURIALS OCCUR. A MEMORIAL SERVICE AND DINNER ARE HELD YEARLY. MIXON CEMETERY CONTINUES TO BE USED AND REMAINS A TESTAMENT TO THE PIONEERING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE COMMUNITY.