Please be careful and mindful when searching for this cache! You take all responsibility in attempting to locate this container. You may want to bring a height extender and/or friend to make sure you stay safe. Watch out for muggles because retrieving the cache stealthily will be difficult!
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, Welcome to Walnut Grove Cemetery. Our story began in the early 1850s, when Reverend W.B. Wear "laid the foundation for the Walnut Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church". According to this history of the county, a third building for the congregation opened in 1869. This source goes on to mention a curious local anecdote and described the building's location in greater detail:
"The church stood back in a grove of trees to the east of the old cemetery. There was a building called the Tabernacle that was to the west of the church building. (Maybe the third building mentioned above.) The congregation would often have dinners there. There is a story about an Indian and his horse being buried near the entrance to the old cemetery and it had a fence enclosing the burial plot. Children were told that the fence was to keep the horse from running away."
According to the helpful information of Joy Gough, original Anglo settlers called this area Swayback. "The name came from the original school building, whose roof sagged in the middle. One reference says that Swayback was actually about 1 mile south."
This source asserted that, for a period of time, the church "was the largest rural church in Collin County. It was the only rural church to have a full-time minister,". The "old" section of this cemetery was closest to the old building. That building was torn down in the 1990s, and the cemetery has now extended significantly beyond its original plot. This cache is located in the "newer" section, a narrow plot of land south of the original tombstone and building. All the land here was donated by J. C. and William C. Rhea, who started the settlement of Rhea's Mill after arriving here in 1855. They were the sons of an Irish immigrant, and their "farming community" grew so large that, from 1876-1907, there was a local post office.
The settlements of Collin County have changed significantly, as any current resident will tell you. This cemetery, once rural, is now associated with the town of Prosper and their local Presbyterian church. However, the church is very close to the outer boundary of McKinney. Many of the church's founding families are located here and in nearby Wear Cemetery. On the first Sunday in May, the community hosts "Decoration Day" here. This is an encouraging fact, as it means there is a good chance this cemetery will be well preserved going forward. Please take your time in examining this large cemetery, and make sure to check out the WoW multi-caches nearby.
Feel free to message me for help in solving this cache. Thank you to the Drives team for the container. Take some time to hunt a cache and reflect on the temporary splendor of life.