Wynne honored with Historical Marker
Photo by Tom Tyler
Granddaughters of Edmond Wynne unveil a Texas Historical Marker in Wynne’s honor Saturday, June 25. Wynne established the Wynne Community that enabled black settlers to have land to live on as well as having schools and churches.
Hillcrest Cemetery Restoration Committee member
Approximately 90 people attended the Texas Historical Marker dedication at the Historic Hillcrest Cemetery Saturday, June 25, for Edmond Wynne.
Wynne was born into slavery in 1850 in Cherokee County, his family moved to Van Zandt County after the Civil War and purchased land in the Big Rock area in 1876. During the Reconstruction Period, he served in the State Militia.
Wynne moved to Canton in 1882, purchasing farm land on the northern edge of the City of Canton. This became a community and area for the black community to have land to live on as well as a school and churches. He helped newcomers and neighbors become self-sufficient. The Wynne community is filled with descendants of those early settlers who came to Canton in a dangerous and turbulent era and established a new life of freedom and possibility.
Around 40 descendants of Wynne came from across the nation from California, Louisiana and Texas. There are still descendants of Wynne living in Canton.
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