Mayfield, Texas, Hill County ghost town. (original) (raw)
Cemetery in Mayfield
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
History in a Pecan Shell
Prior to the Civil War, the region was already establishing a ranching industry. After the war, permanent settlers arrived from other Southern states, congregating around the water provided by Hackberry Creek. Several communities-in-the-making vied to become dominant. These included McDonald, Prairiedale, and Loveless - a community not taken seriously when it was sometimes called Frog Liver.
Prairiedale was a likely winner, but when its Baptist Church was physically moved to Mayfield, it gave Mayfield the advantage. Finally, in 1912, the communities consolidated their schools - at Mayfield.
As for the naming of Mayfield, it is said that when the railroad (The Trinity and Brazos Valley) arrived in 1904, the railroad had already used up the names of executives and railroad personnel and were forced to honor a local. Since the Trinity and Brazos had a spur designated for shipping cotton, they named it after John Mayfield, the worker who was present when they were choosing a name.
The Mayfield school became a community center after the mid-1950s. Mayfield's store, gas station and gin also shuttered in the 1950s, creating a death spiral that was irreversible. By the 1980s, Mayfield had become "a dispersed rural community" with no discernable center. Although no high water mark was recorded, the 2000 census count of 12 - and the fact that it was once an amalgam of three communities, pushed Mayfield into the Ghost Town category.
Cemetery
Photographer's Note:
I wanted to share some photos with you of a cemetery that has no name. It's located in the middle of a corn field, between Hillsboro and Osceola, in a town of Mayfield. -
Jen Basham, February 28, 2018
Approaching the cemetery in Mayfield
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Confederate tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Broken tombstone
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
Tombstone by the cemetery cast iron fence
Photos courtesy of Jen Basham, February 2018
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