Located on the original homestead of William and Clarissa Johnson and their family, this community cemetery began in the 1850s. Although there may have been earlier interments (possibly including William Johnson) the earliest documented burials, those of two young daughters of Dr. and Mrs. J. C. Privett, took place in 1856. Dr. Privett died in 1857 and was buried next to his daughters. After Clarissa Johnson married Thomas McDonald in 1858, her homestead became known as the McDonald Farm. By 1870 the small graveyard on Clarissa's farm had become a community burial ground known as McDonald Cemetery, although it was not formally designated as such in deed records until 1930. Among those buried in the McDonald Cemetery are members of the Johnson and McDonald families. There are over 550 documented burials, as well as a number of unmarked graves. The original one-acre plot of land set aside for the graveyard was enlarged in later years by additional land acquisitions. For well over a century, the McDonald Cemetery has served as a reminder of Cherokee County's pioneer heritage. It remains one of the area's important cultural resources.