Many motorists pass Medlock Cemetery each day on their way between Mexia and Perdue Hill

Medlock Cemetery near Perdue Hill.

If you’ve ever driven along U.S. Highway 84 between Mexia and Perdue Hill, you’ve driven past the old Medlock Cemetery. This small cemetery is located about 100 yards north of Highway 84 beneath a small grove of trees, just west of the Turkey Trot Ranch.

No doubt like many readers, I’ve driven by this cemetery hundreds of times, but I’d never taken the time to stop for a look around. A few days ago, I was headed towards Claiborne with a few minutes to spare, so I turned off Highway 84 and eased up the wide grass lane leading to the cemetery.

For about 15 minutes or so, I walked among the headstones and quickly realized that this cemetery has been in use for well over a century. Just eyeballing it, I’d say this cemetery contains about 40 graves. Surnames that you’ll find there include family names like Blanton, Bussey, Dailey, Grace, Harrison, Jaye, Lambert, Lowrey, Talbert, Tuthill, Williams, Wright and, of course, Medlock.

As with many old cemeteries, this cemetery contains many unmarked graves and more than a few headstones that don’t display much information. The oldest marked graves that I was able to find belonged to a pair of young boys, Thomas J. Lowrey and William E. Lowrey. While I can’t say for sure, more than likely these boys were brothers.

Thomas passed away at the age of eight in September 1862, about four days before Antietam. William was only five months old when he passed away that November, less than two months after Thomas. Did disease carry these young children away or was it hunger brought on by the privations of war?

As you would expect, there are more than a few members of the Medlock family buried here. The oldest Medlock grave that I found belonged to Leo Medlock, another child whose life was cut short. He passed away at just four months old in May 1902.

Leo was the son of Sylvester Medlock, a prominent citizen in his day. Sylvester, who is buried a short distance from his son, was described in his obituary as “one of the pioneer citizens” of Monroe County. He died in his late 80s in 1939. At the time of his death, he was survived by nine living children.

Another interesting grave is that of Joseph W. Blanton. His gravestone says that he died in 1880, but military records indicate that he died in August 1862 while serving at Oven Bluff with the 36^th Alabama Infantry. If that is true, then his grave is the oldest in the cemetery, predating that of Thomas Lowrey’s by about a month.

A few minutes later, as I drove the 10 or so miles back to Monroeville’s downtown square, I continued to think about all that I’d seen at the Medlock Cemetery. What made early residents of that area select that location for a cemetery? Was there a church there at some point in the distant past or was there some other reason?

In the end, if anyone in the reading audience knows more about the history of the Medlock Cemetery, please let me know. My feeling is that there is much more history here than meets the eye. Perhaps someone out there in the reading audience will be able to shed more light on this obscure corner of local history.