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Near Winona in Smith County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Harris Creek Cemetery

 
 
Harris Creek Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 16, 2015
1. Harris Creek Cemetery Marker
Inscription. Harris Creek Baptist Church organized in Oct. 1849, with 15 charter members and elder William H. Ray elected as pastor. Ray, who organized the First Baptist Church of Tyler the previous year, preached at Harris Creek for two years before resigning to form other Baptist churches in Smith County. The original location was along the creek at Lott’s Spring, near the Methodist Church camp ground east of this site. After severe flooding, members moved the church here, in the Mount Carmel community, in 1852. Anglo members and their African-American slaves worshiped together in one building while seated separately. The church building also served as a schoolhouse, and a cemetery began on adjacent land.

The earliest documented burial in Harris Creek Cemetery is of South Carolina native John Brownlee Clinkscales, who signed his will the same day he died on Jan. 4, 1857. Mount Carmel declined after the Civil War, and an extension of the Tyler Tap Railroad established the nearby town of Winona in 1876. Harris Creek Memorial Association formed in Oct. 1909, with James T. Kay of Winona as chairman. The association continues to hold an annual meeting, which usually includes worship service and a picnic dinner. Winona Baptist Church (formerly Harris Creek Baptist Church) deeded the cemetery to Harris Creek Memorial Association in 1948.

Tombstones
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made of marble, sandstone, concrete and metal chronicle several fraternal organizations and veterans of conflicts dating from the War of 1812 to Vietnam. The rural setting includes deciduous trees, some cedars, and native grass with some plantings. Many family plots are enclosed by concrete curbs, and some have iron fencing. Today, this burial ground of several hundred graves remains in use and recalls the contributions of citizens of Mount Carmel, Winona and other nearby communities.
Historic Texas Cemetery - 2010

 
Erected 2010 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16753.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesChurches & ReligionNative Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1849.
 
Location. 32° 27.992′ N, 95° 13.022′ W. Marker is near Winona, Texas, in Smith County. Marker is on Harris Creek Church Road (County Road 336) 0.2 miles south of County Road 41, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13720 Harris Creek Church Road, Winona TX 75792, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Nicholas Wren 1807-1859 (here, next to this marker); Scouts of Texas Army (here, next to this marker); Elisha Everett Lott
Harris Creek Cemetery image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 16, 2015
2. Harris Creek Cemetery
(approx. 2.4 miles away); Camp Fannin, Texas (approx. 2.9 miles away); Our Land - Our Heritage (approx. 2.9 miles away); First Baptist Church of Winona (approx. 3.3 miles away); Shamburger Cemetery (approx. 4 miles away); The Kay House (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Winona.
 
Harris Creek Cemetery gate. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 16, 2015
3. Harris Creek Cemetery gate.
Old Harris Creek Baptist Church image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 16, 2015
4. Old Harris Creek Baptist Church
Now the Burning Bush Baptist Church.
Intersection showing directions to cemetery. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 16, 2015
5. Intersection showing directions to cemetery.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on September 19, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 728 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 19, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

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Mar. 29, 2024