Pioneers in the Clayton school-house community began using this site on J. W. Whitaker's farm as a burial ground in 1866, with the interment of Joseph McLean. The settlers, who were farmers and ranchers from Mississippi and other southern states, bought this cemetery in 1880 and continued to use it as a burial ground. In 1967 descendants of the pioneer settlers formed the Whitaker Cemetery Association to provide for the maintenance of the gravesites. The organization sponsors an annual memorial service the third Sunday in May.