Historic Graveyard Tour – Panther Creek
A wrought-iron fence lines a portion of the Williams Family Graveyard at historic Panther Creek Plantation in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Williams Family Graveyard
The third of six stops on the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour that was held on May 2, 2009 in Lewisville, North Carolina took us to the Williams Family Graveyard located on the (private) property of the historic Panther Creek Plantation on Double Springs Road. (Click to read the previous post on the Historic Graveyard Tour at Double Springs AME Zion Church.)
Leading our group on this portion of the tour was the owner of the property, Lanier Williams, who is 88 years old. In 1766 his great-great-grandfather, Joseph Williams, purchased several thousand acres spanning both sides of the Yadkin River and established what came to be known as Panther Creek Plantation.
Mr. Williams walked us through the graveyard, pointing out the graves of various relatives and telling us a little about them. For instance, his great-great-grandfather distinguished himself as an Indian fighter and a Revolutionary War colonel. And one of Joseph Williams’ sons, Lewis James Williams, served in both the N.C. Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.
The oldest grave in the Williams cemetery is Joseph Williams’ — he was born in 1748 and died in 1827. One unusual grave has a pair of little boots and socks carved out of the top of the gravestone, commemorating the tragic death of two-year-old Emily Kerr, who died in a fire.
Photos, Audio and Additional Information
Check out the links below to the PHOTO GALLERY (which includes photos of the grounds, as well as of the graveyard) and the 5-minute MP3 RECORDING of Lanier Williams.
For ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on the Williams family, you might want to read Williams: 300 Years of Leadership in America, A History of the Descendants of John Williams of Llangollen, Wales, published in 1997. I suggest checking with the Lewisville Library or the Lewisville Historical Society to see if either of them has a copy of this book, which I believe is now out of print.
Photo Gallery: Panther Creek Plantation and Graveyard Photo Gallery
Audio: Historical Intro – Panther Creek Plantation and Graveyard Recording (MP3, 5 MIN.)
If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy reading about the other local historic graveyards featured on this website.
Historic Graveyard Tour
This image is an artistic rendering of an inscription on an old tombstone in one of the graveyards featured in the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour held in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Tour Overview
This past Saturday (May 2, 2009) I joined about 20 other individuals on the Historic Graveyard Tour that took us to six historic graveyards in the Lewisville Township. The tour began at the Lewisville Library and was sponsored by the Lewisville Historical Society’s Sesquicentennial Steering Committee. The six graveyards we visited are located at the following sites:
- Concord United Methodist Church
- Double Springs AME Zion Church (the church building no longer exists)
- Panther Creek Plantation (private property)
- Lewisville Baptist Church
- Lewisville United Methodist Church
- Shiloh Lutheran Church
Before departing for our first stop, each tour participant received a handout with information on each historic graveyard. Upon arriving at each graveyard, we were met by an individual who provided additional history regarding each site.
Upcoming Coverage
I took a number of photos at each graveyard, and I also tried to capture some audio of the oral historical session provided at each site. Over the next few weeks, I’ll feature each graveyard separately, with lots of photos, and possibly some audio, if the recording quality is good. I’ll be interspersing the coverage of each graveyard between other Lewisville events until each of the graveyards has been covered.
Meanwhile, shown next is a photo from each of the historic graveyards.
CLICK to see photos from the Historic Graveyard Tour
