Titus County has two Barrett Cemeteries. One Barrett Cemetery, located lies 8 miles west of Mt. Pleasant in the south part of the town of Winfield, was eventually renamed Winfield Cemetery.
The Barrett Cemetery described here lies about 2-1/2 miles northeast of Winfield inside Luminant (formerly Texas Utilities or TXU) Winfield, Texas lignite coal mine. It is a public cemetery accessible through a locked gate. An appointment is necessary in order to go to the cemetery. Mr. Billy Joe Lindsey, President of the Barrett Cemetery Association, can provide access by calling him in advance at 903-572-6264.
Barrett Cemetery covers two acres, and for many years the cemetery was not maintained and was in very bad shape. Many monuments had fallen and broken so that some inscriptions are unreadable. The cemetery was originally divided into two individually fenced sections; one for whites and one for African Americans. The latter is in the worst state of disrepair with some monuments covered over with dirt and debris.
Barrett Cemetery is a true success story. Due to the work of Mr. Billy Joe Lindsey, his son Paul Lindsey, and a number of others, the Barrett Cemetery has been cleaned up and is well on the way to being restored. Titus County Commissioner Mike Fields provided help in removing brush from the cemetery in 2005, and volunteer workers built a new gate for the cemetery with a sign that says "Barrett, Est. 1856" above the entrance. Since the cemetery is on Luminant property, Luminant assisted in removing the original fence which had been badly damaged by falling trees, removing many problem trees, and leveling the land around the cemetery in 2006. The cemetery association re-set several markers and placed several broken marble markers that could not be reset in concrete. Next, they plan to install a new chain link fence around the cemetery. They will again have an annual decoration day on the second Saturday in April at 11:00 a.m.
The cemetery is funded by donations. The cemetery association established a bank account at Pilgrim Bank where people can make donations, or donations may be mailed to Barrett Cemetery Association c/o Billy Joe Lindsey, 3829 Titus County Road 4260, Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455.
First person: Mary S. Barrett on 11-30-1856. Oldest person: Elizabeth Hilton 1791 (97 yrs) African American: Joe Bolden born 4-3-1836 79 yrs 4 mo 28 days. There are 76 native stone and wood grave markers visible throughout the cemetery.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS FROM THE TITUS COUNTY COURTHOUSE:
Travel 0.2 miles west on West First Street, then turn right onto Edwards Avenue.
Travel north for 2.8 miles across U.S. Highway 67, Interstate 30, and across U.S. Highway 271. North Edwards Avenue becomes Texas FM 1734 after you cross U.S. Highway 271.
Continue for 5.0 miles to a metal pipe gate on the left side of the highway. A green and white Texas Department of Transportation sign on the right side of Texas FM 1734 marks the road to the Barrett Cemetery.
The cemetery lies 0.5 miles from the gate, down a grassy lane that passes through a short tunnel.
