The Texas Spirit Quest
is a series of Caches placed by many individuals, near cemeteries and historic sites in hopes of paying respect to the many pioneer ancestors that have ‘walked’ before us.
There are hundreds of cemeteries in the rural communities across Texas. This series will introduce you to many of them. The cache pages will provide a virtual history tour of the cemeteries, tombstones and local lore.
It took me four visits to finally locate this site, and ultimately I only succeeded because one of my primary online resources was recently updated by a local enthusiast whose hobby is photographing old cemeteries. With his pictures and description, I was able at last to vector in on this place. Note that it alternately is known as the Collins-Thompson or Yarbrough Cemetery. In fact, the "Thopson" reference is only due to an engraving mistake on one of the headstones for a deceased Thompson. It is claimed as well that this site also goes by the name of the Old Collins Cemetery, but this appears to be an error. Obituaries as current as 2013 refer to burials at Old Collins, but they clearly did not take place here. However, online searches haven't revealed a solid alternative location for Old Collins, although it seems likely that the reference is meant to be applied to whatever site is maintained by the local Alice Collins Cemetery Association. At any rate, it seems likely that there are five graves here, ranging from 1892 to 1905, although the headstones for only two remain extant.
To actually glimpse those headstones, walk about halfway from the cache's location to the nearby intersection. Look toward the red house on the other side of this little grove of trees, sighting along a large log pointing away from the road. About halfway to the house, you should see the markers to the right of a large oak with a big branch jutting out of its left side. As always, any refinements to the listed coordinates are welcomed.