BLACK
CEMETERY - McKINNEY
Wilson Creek Parkway,
no markers.
Historical marker application.
The Black Cemetery in McKinney was located southwest of
and across the old Dallas Road from the present-day Bradley Cemetery
in southern McKinney. It was considered part of the Bradley
Cemetery. It was the only known cemetery for blacks in McKinney for forty
years. No one knows how many graves it contains. The graves were marked
with bois d�arc markers. It was probably started in the 1850s, about
the same time that the Bradley Cemetery was started and was not used after
the 1890s when the Ross Colored Cemetery was opened about two miles to
the east. Both the Bradley and the Black Cemetery were totally
neglected for many years.
At one time the land around both cemeteries was owned
by E. W. Kirkpatrick, a noted horticulturalist. He planted many
of his experimental trees near the cemeteries. There are
newspaper articles that refer to the Bradley Cemetery being in Mrs. Waide�s
pasture (Mrs. Waide was his daughter). It is said that there was a
wire fence around the Black Cemetery and indeed, a bois d�arc fence
post has been found in place. The cows roamed in the Bradley Cemetery.
When the City of McKinney planned to build Wilson Creek
Parkway, several people told the city about the Black Cemetery.
Officials from the NAACP and the city looked into the matter. It was agreed that
the Black Cemetery did exist but that it was not possible to
determine its location and boundaries. A Texas State Historical
Marker was obtained for the Bradley Cemetery at that time (1986), which
mentioned the Black Cemetery as being nearby.
When Wilson Creek Parkway was under construction, a
couple of the remaining bois d�arc markers from the Black Cemetery
were taken to the Collin County Museum at the Old Post Office for safe
keeping.
In1999 when the City of McKinney planned construction
on the south side of Wilson Creek Parkway, the issue of the Black
Cemetery came up again. The city hired Geo-Marine, Inc. of Plano to locate the
cemetery. Using information from a descendant of E. W. Kirkpatrick, an
area was designated for study. Top soil was scraped in seven
trenches in the designated area. Five graves were located with a few
other possible graves. The greatest number of graves were located near
the Parkway.
The city of McKinney plans to fence off the cemetery,
enclosing with it some of Gen. Kirkpatrick�s non-native trees. The area
to be fenced is approximately 120' x 195' x 135'.
CEMETERY INDEX
Recommended citation:
Black Cemetery - McKinney,
"CEMETERIES OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County, Texas
History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc.,
<http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
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