Clinton Cemetery
Caddo Mills, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
According to local legend, this graveyard originated when an unknown cowboy was buried near this site with the permission of landowner James Massay, who designated the spot as a community cemetery. Massay also gave the land for a railroad right-of-way along which the town of Clinton was built. The earliest marked grave in the cemetery is that of R. J. McAdams (1836-1859), wife of J. E. McAdams. The village was named Massayville in 1899, but was later renamed Clinton for Charles S. Clinton, an official of the Cotton Belt Railway. More than 500 graves in this cemetery and a few scattered homes in the vicinity were all that remained of the Clinton community in 1998. The cemetery is a record of the pioneers of Hunt County. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Local legend holds that this graveyard began when an unknown cowboy was buried here with landowner James Massay's blessing, on ground he set aside for the community. Massay also gave a railroad right-of-way, and the town that rose along it — first Massayville, then Clinton — was named for a Cotton Belt Railway official. The earliest marked grave dates to 1859, and by 1998 more than 500 graves and a few scattered homes were all that remained of Clinton.
Why it matters
It records how the railroad shaped and then abandoned a Hunt County town, leaving the cemetery as the fullest surviving chronicle of its pioneers.
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Related people
- · James Massay
- · Charles S. Clinton
- · R. J. McAdams
Themes & tags
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