We went back out to Jordan Springs Cemetery this week to learn more about the mysterious Indian Princess grave from the President of the cemetery association, Jerry Richardson and his wife Martha who graciously told us what they knew about the grave. Mr. Richardson placed the fence around the unknown grave. He related to us how he heard the story that prompted this construction. Local historian and grave dowser Jay Longley was kind enough to come along and see what he could discover using his dowsing rods. If you missed the story I wrote on this grave last week, you can get more background here.

Mr. Richardson said that in the summer of 2011, during a Memorial Day service at the cemetery, an older woman pointed out the unknown grave to him. As it sits outside the fence, and has no tombstone, the grave had inadvertently become part of the parking lot. No one realized it was a burial until the woman visiting pointed it out.

“There is the little Indian girl,” Richardson recalled her saying. “An Indian family lived in this area, and wanted to bury her there, but could only bury her outside the cemetery.” The lady and her family had been members of Friendship Baptist Church. The church building is no longer there, but we were able to see the concrete blocks that once supported it. It was very close to the cemetery. The “Indian Princess” would have been only a few feet behind the church building.

The woman who related the story to Richardson was born in the 1920s. When the feds bought the land for Camp Bowie, her family, along with everyone else on the purchased land, had to move. She moved out to near Winchell, Richardson said. Based on the story, he thinks the grave dates somewhere between 1890 and 1900. “I believe it was a child,” Richardson said. “There is a brick marker about 2 feet wide and 3 feet long that makes a border around the grave. Someone used to come and leave trinkets on the grave, but this stopped because people would steal them.”

Local resident Linda Wheeless was able to give some remembrances regarding the princess grave: “The story as it was told to me is that a group of Indians came through the area and set up camp for a short period of time. While they were there, a young girl died. Now, the Princess part may or may not be accurate. The Indians, who it seems were friendly, needed a place to bury the little girl and knew that the cemetery was here. Whoever was in charge of the property gave them permission to bury her but not in the main part of the cemetery. Therefore, she was buried at the edge where she lies today. That is all hearsay and was passed down through the family. We have a large connection to Jordan Springs (pronounced Jerdan Springs by the early settlers) as my great-great-grandmother, two sets of great-grandparents, maternal grandparents, brother and wife, daughter and several aunts and uncles and cousins are buried there,” Wheeless related.

Jay Longley dowsed the princess grave. The results of his efforts were to discover that the body is indeed that of a female, a child four years old according to the rod readings, seemingly buried without a coffin. It was fascinating to watch the dowsing process, and definitely something I want to learn more about. I could see the rods move when he would get over the target. Someday, I want to get to the bottom of that. “There are a lot of things we can’t explain,” Longley said.

The stories from Richardson and Wheeless match pretty closely, and the findings of Longley’s dowsing support the stories. The discrepancy about whether the family lived in the area or were simply passing through, remains. Longley suggested they might have been part of a wild west show, as there were popular touring companies back in the early 1900s that often came through the area. An interesting idea that is furthered by information Longley relayed to me regarding the fact that Native Americans frequently toured with these groups and did in fact bring their children along to participate in the shows.

I doubt at this point we’ll be able to put a name to this grave, as the information trail seems to have dried up over the years. At least the stories about it can be preserved for coming generations who will see it and no doubt wonder about it like we did.

The sun was starting to set, my husband was tired after a long work day, and we had to head back to town. It was a beautiful evening out at Jordan Springs. The Richardsons and their cemetery association do a fantastic job of maintaining the place. There’s a good, peaceful feeling about it. Light was glinting off a tiny clump of daisies that were growing right where Longley pinpointed the princess’s body to be. It was lovely to see, like a promise that at the end of all the things that happen down here, the lost children, the untimely deaths, the griefs that have no answers, there will be a day when we do know, and the answer will be like those flowers, a beautiful thing that answers death with endless joy. As to the reason the grave was called “Indian Princess,” Richardson explained that as well. “We didn’t have a name to put on it, so we put that. After all,” he said, “everyone’s little girl is a princess.”

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Diane Adams is a local journalist whose columns appear Thursdays on BrownwoodNews.com