DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Saul Wright Cemetery has to say — and it's a story worth every mile of the drive to Cedar Creek. After Emancipation, African American families could move, could travel, could go looking for something better. A good many of them found their way to Texas freedom colonies — places where a community could take root and grow on its own terms.
Cedar Creek Colony, right here in Bastrop County, was one of those places. Now, land ownership was no small thing in Texas. The system was stacked — it prioritized white land ownership — and yet, somehow, about one quarter of African Americans managed to accumulate land anyway.
Think on that for a moment. One in four, against those odds. Saul Wright — sometimes called Sol — was one of those landowners.
He and his wife, Mary, had made their home at Cedar Creek. And when the community needed a burying ground closer to home, the Wrights stepped up. They donated the first two acres of land to become that very cemetery.
Now, the Wrights themselves had traditionally been buried over at Shiloh Cemetery in Bastrop. But travel difficulties and other hardships made that a burden — and so this new ground was consecrated, opened not just to the Wright family but to all neighboring families. That was the kind of people they were.
Nobody knows exactly when the first burial happened. It's estimated the site has been used since the time of the Civil War and Reconstruction — though many of those earliest graves were left unmarked, and several gravestones have worn past reading. The earliest legible stone belongs to Annie Edmondson, who died in 1919.
Saul Wright tended this ground himself, maintained it, cared for it — right up until his death on July 2, 1931. After that, the work was carried forward. His son, Dempsey Wright, took it up.
Then Dempsey's daughter, Dorothy Wright Peterson. Then C.L. Jones, Jr.
Then members of the Aldridge and Alexander families. And finally, the Saul Wright Cemetery of Cedar Creek Committee. Generation after generation, somebody kept showing up.
Among those buried here are veterans. Alroy Breeding, born 1892, died 1971, served in World War One. And three who served in World War Two: Dock Alexander, born 1896, died 1972; John O.
Alexander, born 1928, died 1988; and T.C. 'Walter' Alexander, born 1923, died 1985. This cemetery holds the ancestors of Cedar Creek's oldest African American lineages — courageous people, industrious people, people who built something lasting out of next to nothing. The marker calls them exactly that.
And two acres of donated ground, tended through more than a century of hands, makes that case better than any words could.
What the marker says
This cemetery is the final resting place of many ancestors of Cedar Creek's oldest African American lineages. After Emancipation, African American families could now travel to make their living. Many found refuge in Texas freedom colonies, such as Cedar Creek Colony in Bastrop County. About one-quarter of African Americans were able to accumulate land, no small feat in the Texas system which prioritized white land ownership. One such black landowner was Cedar Creek resident Saul (or Sol) Wright and his wife, Mary. The Wrights donated the first two acres of land to become a burying ground for the freedmen living in Cedar Creek. The Wrights had traditionally been buried in Shiloh Cemetery in Bastrop; however, travel difficulties and other hardships necessitated a burial ground closer to home. The Wrights opened the cemetery to all neighboring families. Saul maintained the cemetery until his death on July 2, 1931. Later, it has been cared for by his son, Dempsey Wright; Dempsey's daughter, Dorothy Wright Peterson; C.L. Jones, Jr.; members of the Aldridge and Alexander families; and finally, the Saul Wright Cemetery of Cedar Creek Committee. It is unknown when the first burial occurred; however, it is estimated that the site has been used for burials since the time of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Many of the earliest graves were unmarked and several gravestones are too difficult to read. The earliest legible gravestone is that of Annie Edmondson (d. 1919). Veterans buried at Saul Wright Cemetery include Alroy Breeding (1892-1971) who served in WWI, and Dock Alexander (1896-1972), John O. Alexander (1928-1988) and T.C. "Walter" Alexander (1923-1985) who served in WWII. The cemetery memorializes these courageous and industrious generations. (HTC 2019)