Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Mount Salem purchased three acres here in 1882 for a sanctuary and a cemetery. The building served as the central point for religious, educational and social activities for the Walnut Creek community until it was lost to a fire in the mid-1930s. Many graves are now unmarked, but descendants still care for the plot of Thomas Mack (1846-1919) and Ophelia Elizabeth (1857-1932) Madison, whose families farmed this land since prior to emancipation. The 1872 gravestone of Peter Elder is one of the oldest at this site that chronicles this early Travis County community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 1999