Mansfield, Louisiana

Georgia natives Henry l. And William Rubin Brook, brothers who married sisters Mary Jane and Caroline E. Henry, respectively, migrated from Alabama to Shelby County by 1850. Henry Brook settled 320 acres through an 1845 Republic of Texas act granting land on unassigned public domain. Brook later had to defend his homestead and property boundaries in district court, in a case later affirmed by the Texas Supreme Court, resulting in an 1859 letter patent from governor H. R. Runnels. Henry Brook was a merchant and farmer, and the Brookland community developed around the homes of Brook and Henry family members who settled here. Henry died in October 1871, and his burial is the first recorded in Brookland Cemetery. After his death, Mary Jane continued to farm with the help of her sons and became an astute businesswoman, operating the Brookland-Logansport ferry. She also donated land and lumber to build the Brookland Methodist Church, forerunner of the first Methodist church in Joaquin, located in the northeast corner of the cemetery. Beginning as a family graveyard, Brookland Vemetery developed into a community burial ground, serving Shelby County and adjoining Desoto Parish, Louisiana. Pioneer settlers and their descendants are buried here, highlighted by military veterans from conflicts dating to the Civil War. Notable features include concrete and brick curbing, fraternal tombstones including woodmen of the world, masons, and order of the eastern star, and grave markers of granite, limestone and marble. The Brookland Cemetery association organized in 1912 and still maintains the site, holding an annual work day in may. The cemetery continues to serve the area while remaining a chronicle of local history.

This cemetery originally served the early community of Paul’s store. William A. Paul opened a store near here after the Civil War. A previous community was named Terrapin Neck. The cemetery was established upon the death of Clarinda (Jones) Wimberly, who was buried at the site in 1870. Her husband, Watford Wimberly buried her on their homestead; after Watford’s 1886 death and burial at the site, his son sold the property in 1891, reserving one acre as a community cemetery. The parker and strickland families each sold additional property to the cemetery and the site now encompasses 5.7 acres. A committee organized in 1973 to oversee the cemetery, which serves as a record of the area’s early settlers.