County Magazine

Just three years ago, the Champion-Macedonia Cemetery in Lewisville, Texas, was so shrouded in brush and vines that it was difficult to see from the road. Thanks to the efforts of several hundred volunteers, including Denton County Precinct 3 Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell, the cemetery has transformed into a well-maintained resting place for Black residents of Denton County.

“The difference has been absolutely amazing,” Mitchell, who assisted with the cleanup effort, said. “Before, it was overgrown with grass, and you couldn’t see the graves all that well.”
 

Champion-Macedonia Cemetery is the resting place for about 150 Black people, with graves dating all the way back to 1886, and it is still an active cemetery today. Twelve military veterans are among those buried there, including several who served during World War II. Family members of those buried there have maintained the cemetery throughout the years, but in recent times, the list of family members responsible for the cleanup has dwindled.

Local volunteer Jacqueline Shaw first heard about the cemetery and went looking for it in 2021. Though the place sits just off Interstate 35 near a Huffines car dealership, it took Shaw hours to find.

“I drove around so many times,” Shaw said. “I came up past a little area where I could see the headstones … It was very emotional. I was very happy I found them, but I was also sad that I didn’t know they were there … As I looked around and saw the cemetery was so overgrown and neglected, I just apologized and said, ‘I didn’t know you were here, but we will be back to clean up your resting place and make it beautiful.’”

Shaw sought to organize a community cleanup effort of the little hidden cemetery for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2022, with Mitchell’s support. Shaw issued a call to action on Facebook to clean the cemetery, expecting “maybe 25” volunteers to show up. Instead, 375 volunteers came to the cemetery ready to work.

“We made a big difference on that first day,” Shaw said. “Everyone had something in their hand to clean with. It was just amazing.”

Since that time, the continued maintenance of Champion- Macedonia Cemetery has been a community affair, with volunteer groups stepping up to clean the place every month or so, Shaw said. Not only have volunteers of all ages, races and creeds cleared out debris and mowed down weeds, but in 2024 white cross markers were placed on previously unmarked graves, and money was raised to place signage at the cemetery and add a wrought iron fence.

“As an African American woman, I stand on the shoulders of those that have gone before us,” Shaw said. “It’s important to preserve their memory because they were leaders. They might not hold a title, but they helped us get to where we needed to be with voting, with every hurdle we have needed to cross as a Black person. So, we do this to preserve history and to show honor and respect.”

Mitchell said she was particularly grateful to the family members of those buried who allowed the cleanup to take place. But, she said, there is still more work to be done. “People from all over the city and county have come to help,” Mitchell said. “The least we can do for the dead is honor their lives.”