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THE COMMUNITY OF LAWSONVILLE, LOCATED IN PRESENT DAY CONCORD, WAS NAMED AFTER HENRY M. LAWSON WHO INHERITED THE LAND FROM HIS FATHER, IRVIN LAWSON, IN THE 1840s. MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF THE COMMUNITY WERE FORMER SLAVES OF NEARBY PLANTATIONS WHO CAME TO LAWSONVILLE TO ESTABLISH HOMES AND FIND WORK. THE COMMUNITY WAS RAPIDLY GROWING BY THE 1860s AND MOST OF THE LAWSONVILLE FAMILIES WORKED AS FARMERS, RANCHERS, SHARECROPPERS, OR WOODCUTTERS. IN 1877, THE LAWSONVILLE POST OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED WITH AMANDA LAWSON, WIFE OF HENRY M. LAWSON, AS THE POSTMASTER. IN THE 1880s, THE COMMUNITY HAD THREE SAWMILLS, THREE COTTON GINS, A GENERAL STORE, THREE CHURCHES, AND A SCHOOL. THE MILES CEMETERY IS THE ONLY REMAINING VESTIGE OF THE LAWSONVILLE COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH THE CEMETERY BEGAN AS A FAMILY PLOT, IT INCLUDED THE BURIALS OF THE MILES FAMILY’S SLAVES AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY. THE EARLIEST MARKED GRAVE FOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MILES IS DATED 1864. HOWEVER, THE PRESENCE OF A NUMBER OF UNMARKED GRAVES SUGGESTS THE POSSIBILITY OF EARLIER INTERMENTS. MEMBERS OF THE MILES FAMILY ARE BURIED WITHIN A WROUGHT IRON FENCE ENCLOSURE, INCLUDING THAT OF ALBERT B. MILES, A PROFESSOR OF SURGERY AT TULANE UNIVERSITY. OUTSIDE OF THIS ENCLOSURE ARE A NUMBER OF GRAVES MARKED BY ROCKS, CEDAR WOOD, AND PLANTED FLOWERS. AN ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED IN 2009 HAS OVERSEEN THE AFFAIRS AND UPKEEP OF THIS SITE THAT CHRONICLES THE HERITAGE OF THE COMMUNITY. |
