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Clack, Minnie Lee Randle

Status: Located

Oak Hill Cemetery, Whitewright, Fannin, Texas, United States of America

Notes: http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgrayso/ceme-oakhill.html

This cemetery lies in Fannin county while most of the town of Whitewright is in Grayson County.
It is on highway 898 just on the north east corner of town.
It is in 4 parts;
The oldest section is on the south side of the road, the back of the cemetery used to be the front! The road was washed out too many times as it was too near the creek. After a bridge washed out on the Bois d'arc Creek in the front of the cemetery and a new road was being built in the current position the front of the cemetery became the back. A large part of the original 2 parts of the front of the old cemetery were washed away. I have not been able to find out if anyone had been buried in the sections. Because of the maps and the layout of the graves I don't think anyone was buried in those sections, because of the creek problem.
The other part of the original cemetery was across a branch of the Bois d'arc Creek. This creek divided the White and Black sections. This also had its gates and front facing south on a road now gone. As far as I can tell about a third of the original cemetery was washed away in a flood and the Bois d'arc changed its creek bed, cutting off the bridge you crossed to reach the Black cemetery and the road headed northward from there on its way to Ely and Ector. At the time I began work on this part of the cemetery the only way to go to it was to go to the back part of Oak Hill and then wade across the creek and up the banks (1993-4). The condition was horrible. Later a cleanup uncovered parts I did not have and since that time I have added information on unmarked graves found in death records, obits and other sources. This cemetery was usually called Whitewright Negro Cemetery and later Negro Oak Hill in documents and papers. If you know anything more about this cemetery section please email me.
Annex- The Original African American Oak Hill
The new part of Oak Hill is on the north side of Hwy 898 and was opened when the flu epidemic of 1918 took so many lives. Recently more sections have been added to the back of the north side.
The final part of Oak Hill is a new section that is on the north of the old Black Oak Hill which now is accessible.

Susan Hawkins Fannin & Grayson County CC

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