Weeping Mary is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Cherokee County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 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, United States. This Caddoan Mississippian culture site is composed of a village and ceremonial center that fe ...

History

Weeping Mary was founded by recently freed slaves shortly after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 cr ...

crying at

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' 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 ...

and Farm to Market Road 2907, west of

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, 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 ...

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 four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

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.

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