DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at Shelton's Bear Creek Cemetery tells it — and it's a story worth telling slow. Before Texas was even Texas as we know it, African Americans were already here — brought to this land against their will, as slaves of white settlers like William Haley and William Borah, before 1845. The ground beneath this cemetery was worked and walked by people who had no say in the matter.
Then in 1851, the land around this site was deeded to an early white settler named Chilton Smith. That name's going to come back around. The Civil War ended, and something quietly remarkable happened out here.
Many of the formerly enslaved people didn't scatter to the winds. They stayed. They put down roots.
They built — with their own hands and their own will — a large African American settlement in this very area. And then came Minnie Shelton. In 1879, Minnie Shelton purchased eighty acres — this site among them — for one hundred and thirty dollars.
Eighty acres and a future. The Shelton family then donated the land for use as a cemetery, and in doing so, they gave their community something that lasts longer than most things do: a place to remember. The earliest marked burial we know of is that of Smith King, who was twenty-three years old when he was laid to rest here in 1895.
Twenty-three years old. Let that sit a moment. Other burials carry their own threads of history.
Rose Dilworth, whose family owned property in Dallas around 1900. And Elizabeth Lawson, who was born in the community of Bright Star — later known as Sulphur Springs, over in Hopkins County. Elizabeth's tombstone bears the insignia of a fraternal organization with a name that commands attention: the Independent Order of the Knights and Daughters of Tabor of America.
These weren't just names on stones. They were people with property, with affiliations, with dignity. The land stayed in the Shelton family all the way until 1933, when it was deeded to a woman named Emily Flippen.
The last marked burial here took place in 1934. By 1943, the entire Chilton Smith homestead — that same ground from back in 1851 — belonged to Emily and W. H.
Flippen of Highland Park in Dallas, and the property took on a new name: Wild Briar Farm. Then in 1946, Carr P. Collins and his family purchased the land surrounding the cemetery.
And here's where the story gets harder. Access to the burial ground was often restricted. Regular maintenance through the twentieth century was difficult.
The years wore on, the brush crept in, and by the time a cemetery survey was conducted in the 1970s, only twelve legible headstones remained. Twelve. But the marker doesn't end there, and neither does the truth of this place.
It is believed that more than two hundred people are buried on this site. Two hundred lives. Two hundred stories rooted in the African American history of this corner of Dallas County — people who came here in bondage, who stayed here in freedom, who built something in the space between.
Twelve headstones visible. Two hundred souls underneath. Some histories you have to lean in real close to hear.
What the marker says
African Americans came to this area as slaves of white settlers such as William Haley and William Borah before 1845. The land around this site was deeded to early white settler Chilton Smith in 1851. After the Civil War, many former slaves stayed in the area and formed a large African American settlement. In 1879, Minnie Shelton purchased 80 acres including this site for $130, and the Shelton family donated the land for use as a cemetery. The earliest marked burial was that of 23-year-old Smith King in 1895. Other burials of interest include those of Rose Dilworth, whose family owned property in Dallas about 1900, and Elizabeth Lawson, born in the community of Bright Star (later Sulphur Springs), Hopkins County. Her tombstone bears the insignia of the fraternal organization the Independent Order of The Knights and Daughters Of Tabor of America. The land remained in the Shelton family until 1933, when it was deeded to Emily Flippen. The last marked burial took place in 1934. By 1943 the entire Chilton Smith homestead belonged to Emily and W. H. Flippen of Highland Park in Dallas. The property became known as Wild Briar Farm during this time. In 1946 Carr P. Collins and his family purchased the land surrounding the cemetery. Access to the burial ground often has been restricted, and regular maintenance was difficult during the twentieth century. A cemetery survey in the 1970s found that twelve legible headstones remained. It is believed that there are more than 200 burials on this site, a chronicle of the African American history of this area. (2000)