Location: Hays Cem.Recorded: WOOD05—Parsons; (location in Co. Hist., Vol. 4, p. 127: “Like so many cemeteries in the country, this one is called by different names …began in the Hays family … unmarked graves …in 1972 it’s referred to as Midway Cem, perhaps from location but no one seems to know how this name came about. …members of the AA race buried here as well as white grave sites.” Cemetery covers large area, no mounded graves, no count of unmarked graves …from 1856 and still in use. “To reach cemetery from Hwy37 and Hwy11 in Winnsboro, go west on Hwy11 for 1.5 miles, past FM852 intersection for 1.5 miles. Cemetery is on south side of road … not marked … is hardly noticed from road. The markers are in groups, some on the far east side of the field, a larger group in near center and then more graves in the southwest corner—these had been hoed off [scrapped earth] recently [1972] and grass and weeds mowed, shredded on other locations.”) Cemetery IndexTHC site visit MB 2/06/04 w/ hist. Bill Jones: Large sloping site w/ tall Cedar marker trees, formal markers, diversity over time. Fenced on 3 sides. WD Co hist marker, flagpole. Reportedly mixed race burials thru history. GPS 32.57.21.34739N –95.19.21.43166W.
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.