Note - There is a home just east of Melbourne along State Highway 69S built from the brick once used in the old plantation house.
Video Below!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
The Watkins Cemetery
The Watkins Cemetery is on property once part of the Watkins Plantation near "Wild Haws" (present-day Lacrosse). Three brothers migrated to the Izard County area from Williamson County Tn in 1844 to collectively build the largest plantation in the county owning the greatest number of slaves. Nearby once stood one of the most impressive plantation homes in North Central Arkansas, a two-story brick structure built by slaves with materials manufactured on the plantation. We have been told that there are still some of the original Watkins Plantation buildings standing in the area and intend to track them down. Rick remembers visiting one of the slave quarters as a child before it was dismantled. It stood within yards of the cemetery shown here.
Note - There is a home just east of Melbourne along State Highway 69S built from the brick once used in the old plantation house.
Video Below!
Note - There is a home just east of Melbourne along State Highway 69S built from the brick once used in the old plantation house.
Video Below!
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10 comments:
I was born at Lacrosse-My folks used to live in the basement of the old slave house&then they lived at what was then called Wild Haws-It was an old Post office among other things I was told-I also lived there until I was about two before we moved to Lacrosse-From what I understand someone in Mtn.Home has the logs to the old Wild Haws building-I tried to find the whereabouts of them but never did-Kind of interesting to read about you guys going there&to think back years ago I lived there-I hope I got all this story straight as it was told to me
Are there any slaves buried here?
Not sure, Gman. I do know that there is a cemetery nearby known as the Lost Cemetery and is supposed to be the site of slave-burials. I also know that some of the area's slaves are buried at nearby Sweet Home Cemetery. I would venture, however, that there may actually be some in the Watkins Cemetery, buried with the families they served so well during the period.
Izard County owes a great debt of gratitude to the hard-work of those who...under oppression...did the hard-work of building this county!
Thanx.
Great site I am one of the descendants of a slave from that plantation. Oliver Watkins who later became Oliver McMillon.
Great to hear from you, Clarence! I hope you visit from time to time and would love to hear more about your family!
Thank you to those who have put time into this wonderful website!I am a direct descendant of Dr. O. T. Watkins and would appreciate any information about his son, William F. Watkins, who farmed on the Strawberry River. I plan to visit next year and see your beautiful area for the first time.
There is a slave cemetery on the land that you can see from the road.
Wow! We bought a property in the field across the road from the watkins cemetary.
We do have spiritual turbulence here on a daily basis. I think im finally putting 2 and 2 together!
Ive also found civil war relics here. On multiple occasions.
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