Petty, Lamar County
This historic burial ground is the resting place of former slaves, freedmen and descendants of African Americans who came here in the 1800s. Samuel and Dicie Lucinda (Lee) Swann bought 153 acres, including this cemetery site, from W. T. and Cornelia Booth in 1881. Dicie’s mother Cherry Lee (d. 1883) is the earliest marked burial here. She came to Lamar County from Alabama with Herbert Lee and his family and slaves. In 1899, Samuel Swann deeded three acres to the Methodist Episcopal Church as a burial ground. Among those buried here are military veterans, a preacher, several masons and eastern star members, community leaders and families who have called this area home for generations.