By Darwin Campbell
LoneStarPages
One of the greatest ways to remember our African-American ancestors is to respect their burial sites and work to support and help maintain their final resting grounds.
That goal is becoming a dream realized in Irving as a community prepares to pay homage Feb. 27 from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. to ancestors in a celebration of Black History and volunteer spirit that together will help build stronger bonds of understanding and unity.
The gathering will focus on the clean up and Historical Marker Rededication at the Old Bear Creek Slave Cemetery, also know as “Shelton’s Bear Creek Cemetery”.
The historic site is located on the corner of Hardrock Rd. and Pioneer Dr., just off Esters and Highway 183.
The celebration is important and signals the intention of the community to work together to keep the cemetery alive, despite years of being forgotten, neglected by city officials and attacked by vandals.
The event is significant because of the renewed commitment to Black history and the information on cemetery inhabitants the proves rich with valuable African-American history and contributions that are interwoven with the early development of Irving and Dallas and Tarrant counties.
According to Texas Historical Commission, 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.
The event is being supported by District 3 Irving City Councilman Alan Meagher, along with the Irving Parks and Recreation Department, Pastor Dennit Webb and the Bear Creek Community Church, Big Dogs Youth Organization, Irving School Board member AD Jenkins, Community Activist Anthony Bond, Glory Temple Holiness Church and the West Irving Improvement Association and others who care about the preservation of the site.
For more information about how you can help preservation efforts contact Anthony Bond at 214-830-6719.
hrmm, I hope I percieve this the way it was intended…
I lived at Wild Briar for over 10 years. My Dad Macon was the care taker and oversaw the operations for Fidelity Union Life owned by Mr. Senator Jim Collins. Access to the cemetery was granted only if they knocked on the door at our house and proper id was shown.
If they did not follow the proper procedures them we took it as people were trespassing. It is unfortunate that such a historical cemetery fell into despair. I hope they can reclaim it. Now it should be easy to access the site not since it is located off of the highway up a 40 embankment.
Sincerely,
Matthew Bryan