Weeping Mary is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Cherokee County Cherokee County is the name of eight counties in the United States: * Cherokee County, Alabama * Cherokee County, Georgia * Cherokee County, Iowa * Cherokee County, Kansas * Cherokee County, North Carolina * Cherokee County, Oklahoma * Cherokee Co ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. It is significant as the community closest to the ancient

Caddo Mounds State Historic Site Caddo Mounds State Historic Site (41CE19) (also known as the George C. Davis Site) is an archaeological site in Weeping Mary, Texas. This Caddoan Mississippian culture site is composed of a village and ceremonial center that features two earthwor ...

History

Weeping Mary was founded by recently freed slaves shortly after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. The community later founded a Baptist church. The community had a few scattered houses in the 1930s and gained a church in 1990. Demographic changes took place after a boll weevil infestation destroyed the cotton crops, and mechanization reduced the need for farm labor. Many people left in the Great Migration, seeking jobs on the West Coast, especially during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when more defense industry jobs were available. The population was 40 in 2000. On April 13, 2019, an EF-3 tornado struck the community, destroying several homes and the Caddo Mounds museum, killing two people and injuring 20 others.

Urban legends about the etymology

There are two known legends about how Weeping Mary got its name; the first claims that the name refers to

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

crying at

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

' tomb. In another version, the town was named for a former slave who cried after losing her land, as the government had promised it would not be taken away.

Geography

Weeping Mary is located at the intersection of

Texas State Highway 21 State Highway 21 (SH 21) runs from the Texas-Louisiana boundary east of San Augustine to San Marcos in east and central Texas. SH 21 mostly follows the alignment of the Old San Antonio Road and the El Camino Real, except for the portion bet ...

and Farm to Market Road 2907, west of

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...

and southwest of

Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

in southern Cherokee County.

Education

The community founded a local school for their children in 1896 and had a record of 40 pupils. It was still operational in the 1930s. Students living in Weeping Mary are within the

Alto Independent School District The Alto Independent School District is a school district based in Alto, Texas, USA. It is managed by a six-person Board of Trustees. The superintendent is Kelly West. The district is also served by Angelina College, a community college located ...

References

External links

Scenes And Sorrows: A Portrait Of Weeping Mary
- photos and stories about how the town got its name Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Cherokee County, Texas {{CherokeeCountyTX-geo-stub