Watterson Cemetery Cleanup

The Douglas County Foxtrotting Horse Breed Association recently volunteered to cleanup the Watterson Cemetery as one of the group’s community service projects for 2012.  The cemetery site,  located south of Ava near Beaver Creek, is adjacent to Bucks & Spurs Ranch.  In the photo, the headstones shown above are the graves of Joshua and Mary Barnes, early settlers of  Douglas County, who arrived before the Civil War and lived nearby.  Joshua Barnes, civil war veteran, and his wife Mary are the great-great grandparents of Frank and Steve Williams, and great-grandparents of Cleo Link.  Cleo and the Williams family were on site to help with the project; Cleo traveling from Springfield, Mo. and the Williams from Kansas City. The Breshears brothers, representing Bucks & Spurs, were also on site to assist in the job.  Sonny Huff of Bucks & Spurs, said she has been told there are approximately 300 graves in the cemetery.  Many of the cemetery headstones date in the 1800’s.    Volunteers standing above are, l to r, Steve Williams, Dale Lawson, Leah Lawson, Steve Assenmacher, Wilma Hamby, Kate Assenmacher, Mary Williams, Frank Williams, Cleo Link, Ryan Breshears, Cody Breshears, and seated is Joe Hamby.