Cedar Creek Cemetery
Muldoon, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This burial ground was established around 1875 to serve the African-American community of Cedar Creek. The African Methodist Episcopalian Church, which organized in 1874, received this property from the estate of N.W. Faison. Members erected a church building and laid out the cemetery behind it. The earliest known burial is of Christerfer Myres, dating to 1877. Unique grave markers include one shaped into a concrete ball, one made of petrified wood, several partially made from sea shells and an obelisk. The church served the area for more than 50 years. Today, Cedar Creek Cemetery is all that remains of the historic Cedar Creek Community. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2007
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1875, the African American community of Cedar Creek laid out this burial ground behind the church built by their African Methodist Episcopal congregation, organized in 1874 on land from the estate of N. W. Faison. The earliest known grave dates to 1877, and among the markers are striking folk creations—one shaped like a concrete ball, another of petrified wood, and several studded with seashells. The church served for more than half a century, and today the cemetery is all that remains of the Cedar Creek community.
Why it matters
Founded by freedpeople in the first decade after emancipation, Cedar Creek Cemetery preserves the institutions—church, community, and distinctive African American funerary art—that Black Texans built for themselves during Reconstruction.
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Related people
- · Christerfer Myres
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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