Leakey, Real County
Established in the 1870s, Cypress Creek Cemetery served a scattered community of pioneers along Cypress Creek in what was then Bandera County before the founding of nearby Leakey in Edwards County. The land on this site belonged to settler John Bunyan Stidham, Sr., whose son, John Bunyan Stidham, Jr., gave land for a school nearby. Legend surrounds this graveyard. The earliest grave in the cemetery is believed to be that of four-year-old James Beauford Bybee (1875-1879). His burial site is marked by two flat rocks in the ground according to Bybee family practice. Records indicate that the second burial is that of Polly A. Smart (1847-1881). Also buried here is Laura (Turner) Stidham, wife of John Bunyan Stidham, Jr. She and their son Alonzo (b. 1877) were killed when a tornado destroyed their home in 1927. They were buried in a common grave marked only with stones. The graves of several infants and children bear witness to the harsh conditions of pioneer life. Ten known veterans of U. S. and foreign conflicts are interred here. The cemetery contains more than 75 marked and many unmarked graves. Still in use in 1998, Cypress Creek Cemetery continues to serve the descendants of the pioneer settlers of Real County. (1998)