Location: Driving Directions:Traveling south on US 69 from the post office in Doucette, take the first right at CR 2770. Go 1.4 miles west to locked gate and cow pasture on the right. Cemetery is located about approx. Ft. north of gate and across Turkey Creek. Wood sheds cover the four graves. The cemetery is not a map feature and is located on private property. In order to access the cemetery one must go through a locked gate and cross a cow pasture and creek. There is no signage, and the cemetery does not appear to be maintained. The cemetery is threatened by grazing cattle, which were very close to the cemetery during the survey. A graves house with a shed-roof extension covers the four graves. Three graves are located under the gabled grave house, which has fishscale-pattern shingles on the gabled ends and corrugated metal roof. A fourth, more recent grave is located under the shed-roof addition. The three headstone inscriptions in the gabled grave house read:MamaWillie Ann WillisSept. 22, 1881Oct. 24, 1969At RestPapaWilliam B. WillisJan. 29, 1875Sept. 15, 1949 At RestCarrol Abbott WillisBorn Jan. 24, 1917Died Jan. 17, 1929At RestThe fourth headstone inscription under the shed-roof addition reads:Charles Allen WillisMay 22, 1922Sept 8, 1974.
To address the problem of cemetery destruction and to record as many cemeteries as possible, the
Texas Historical Commission offers the Historic Texas Cemetery designation.
The Historic
Texas Cemetery designation was developed in 1998 to help protect historic cemeteries by
recording cemetery boundaries in county deed records to alert present and future owners of land adjacent
to the cemetery of its existence. Every county in Texas has at least one cemetery designated as a Historic
Texas Cemetery through this program. The HTC designation is the first step toward preservation of a historic cemetery.
A cemetery is eligible for designation if it is at least 50 years old and is deemed worthy of recognition
for its historical associations. The very nature of a cemetery being a landmark of a family’s or community’s
presence is considered to validate the criteria of historical associations. Any individual, organization, or
agency may submit a request for designation.