VFW Cemetery, Willow Creek, Hwy 96

The earliest recorded burial in the cemetery is that of Charles H. Waterman, a man who drowned while attempting to cross the Trinity River on horseback in 1886. The site was owned by the heirs of Pinder Bussell. The Bussells allowed numerous burials there
over the years. The land was purchased by Mrs. Ida Jamison and then by the Brizard Company around 1960. The Brizard Company donated the cemetery to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Ironsides Post 9561. The cemetery is now known as the VFW Cemetery. In the 1970s the cemetery was vandalized, markers and headstone were stolen and destroyed. Some graves are now unidentified.


Many of those laid to rest in the cemetery are veterans of foreign wars, including Robert Martin, Sr., a veteran of the Mexican War. Dayton Martin is the only veteran buried at the cemetery that was killed in action.. He was killed while serving in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II.

At 100 and 98 years old, respectively, Elizabeth Beebe and Nell Hodgson are the oldest citizens buried at the VFW cemetery.

A story has been passed down that the large cedar tree located in the middle of the cemetery was planted as a seedling around 1900 over the grave of a young girl whose name is lost to history.

The cemetery is located just off Highway 96 and is approximately one mile north of Highway 299.