Ray Cemetery and Winkle Cemetery (Anderson/Lafferty)

Both the Ray Cemetery and the Winkle Cemetery lie along Lafferty Creek in the Anderson/Lafferty area a short distance above the Luther Milldam. Across the creek from the Winkle Cemetery can be seen a portion of an ancient road that once crossed Lafferty Creek near another old mill. The Ray Cemetery hosts the resting places of 3 Civil-War veterans. Two of them, John Dale and Nicholas (Nick)F. Moss, fought in the same Infantry regiment for the Union and relocated to Izard County at some point after hostilities ceased. The 119th Illinois Infantry Regiment was involved in the Union's failed Red River Campaign which sought to control portions of Louisiana along the Red River. The two must have been related by marriage. Another Civil-War vet buried here, J.T. Barksdale, fought for the Confederacy with Shavor's (sic) regiment according to the stone that marks the grave. J.T. Barksdale was involved in the manganese mining that took place over nearly 100 years from 1850 to 1950 in the Anderson and Cushman areas. Manganese was one of the first minerals to be mined in the area. Rare high quality manganese is abundant in an approximately 100 square mile area covering parts of Independence, Izard, Sharp, and Stone Counties and at one time was one of the top producing areas in the entire U.S. The Winkle Cemetery has few commercially-engraved stones but great care has been put into many of the stones using crude practical means. Both cemeteries are located on Sanctuary Ranch.

Weekend View!

This past weekend, Newburgian (Jim)and I drove part of our Spring Road Trip route in the Lafferty area and got this great shot of the Milldam there. HillbillyRecon (Rick) was able to get the awesome shot of a pair of eagles as he drove along Highway 69 near Sage!

Lafferty Spring and Cave

Lafferty was originally called Anderson. The Mill Dam was built by Ransom W. Luther who operated a Gristmill there during the late 19th Century. The area is known for its magnesium mining which supported the towns growth.

NOTE: If you notice filenames, you may have noticed that there is a reference to "ricspics" in the filepath. These are images taken by a charter member of our crew. Enjoy his shots...he has contributed greatly to this site.

EIC Journal entry here!