White Plains Cemetery

AKA West Clan Graves

Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483
Updated: 24 May 2008
From: August 20, 1975 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American

Who Is Buried There?
Mystery Cemetery Near Packton
by Tim Mayer

(Editor's note: The following story was based on the knowledge of several oldtimers still living in Winn Parish. It is not known which stories are true because they have been passed from generation to generation)

Some say the old cemetery dates back to the 1860s and is the burial place for a group slaves that belonged to the notorious West Clan. Others say that a family named Scott moved into the area, built a big white house, then died of some disease and were buried there. No one knows for sure.

The cemetery is located on an old gravel road 1.9 miles past the Kistachie National Forest sign on Highway 167 south, is also said to be the burial place for one member of the West Clan that was killed near Packton. Another source stated that she believed that two of Hasty Killen's sisters are buried there.

Each grave, there are eight, was marked by an old pine knot before some government men came in about five years ago and put up small wooden crosses. The crosses haven't stood up to the weather as well as the pine knots, as only one pine knot has been blown over.

The cemetery has led at least one man to be curious enough to attempt to unearth one of the bodies, but he was caught and sent to prison before the excavation could be completed. A depression in one of the graves remains to this day and is one of the more eerie aspects of the site.

J. H. "Blackie" Jourdan, Winnfield, a retired logger who cut timber less than a half mile from the cemetery, stated that he first saw it about 18 years ago. Jourdan said that the government put the wooded crosses up about five years ago and he heard that the pine knots have marked the graves since the 1860s.

Jourdan says the story he heard was, "a group of people was moving through the area in ox drawn wagons just after the Civil War, and some kind of disease killed them and they were buried there."

Another source, Lee Melton, stated he heard that one member of the West Clan was buried there after he was shot to death near Packton. Melton said that after the gang had broken up some of them went to Atlanta, La., and one member had gone to Packton area. After the gang member was killed, some of the townfolk took his body to the cemetery and buried it.

Lula Moore came up with a slightly different angle concerning the gang member. She state that her father had told her that the man killed was not a member of the clan, but someone they wanted to join them. He refused to join and since he knew too much about the clan to let him go they killed him and the townfolk of Packton buried him at the cemetery.

The old Jim Killen home is located near the cemetery and Jim's widow said that she heard that two of Hasty Killen's sisters were buried in the cemetery 60 years ago.

Another source, Ed McFarland, said he heart that a family named Scott moved into the area and built a big white house, cutting the timber themselves. Some kind of disease overcame the family and members of the family buried the rest in the cemetery.

There are probably other stories about the old resting place that were never told and will not be told, but one thing is for certain, there are a handful of graves marked by pine knots just off that gravel road and someone was buried there.