Washburn Prairie Cemetery
Barry County, Missouri

 SW Sec. 26, T22N, R28W  

363523N 0935552W

Photos for Washburn have been done. Will add to files soon!

Take 112 South out of Cassville, MO about 6.5 miles from city limits, turn right on Highway AA go 6.7 miles.  The cemetery is on the left. Or you can take Highway 37 South out of Cassville, MO for 7 miles to Washburn city limits.  Turn left on Farm Road 2240 (Washburn Prairie Road) and go 1.2 miles.  The cemetery is on the right.

Donations for upkeep can be sent to Freedom Bank of Southern MO, 97 South Main Street, Cassville, MO 64625

Yard Shot

Yard Shot - Looking South - Newer Section

Yard Shot - Looking South - Newer Section

Yard Shot - Looking South - Newer Section

Yard Shot - Looking North - Toward Shed

Yard Shot - Looking West in Newer Part

Yard Shot in Newer Part - Looking East

Yard Shot - From Middle

Yard Shot - Looking East

Yard Shot - Looking West

Yard Shot - Looking West

Yard Shot - Looking West

Yard Shot - Looking West

Yard Shot - Looking West

Yard Shot Northeast Corner - Looking South

Slave Graves

Shot Looking Across Slave Graves

Slave Graves

Slave Graves

Yard Shot

Submitted by: Donna Cooper

From the photo files of Dane & Mary Martin by way of Gerald Haddock

Another Photo

Before the Civil War there were a substantial number of slaves in Barry County. To know just how many check the slave schedules in the census for those decades.

Mary Carr, who for several years, kept the records for Washburn Prairie Cemetery, told how slave burials were handled there. The slaves came to the Church elders who ran the cemetery asking to bury their people. The request was approved, with the proviso that they were not to use the same kind of monument that the whites used.

They accomplished that by cutting heavy slabs of sandstone and erecting an above-ground monument with sloping sides. These edifices were placed at what was then the back side of the cemetery, farthest from the road. And, they are a distinctly different style.

The sandstone used is far more durable and weather-resistant than the pretty marble and limestone monuments used by their masters.

Stop by Washburn Prairie Cemetery someday to see them. You need not hurry because they are some of the most durable stones in the cemetery.

The men in the above picture are Dane Martin on the right and Gerald Haddock on the left.

Submitted by: Donna Cooper