Payne Springs Methodist Church and Cemetery
For over a century, this church and cemetery have served the community of Payne Springs, 
originally known as Mallard Prairie. By 1880 the church already had a large membership and 
met in a log structure. The church building served as a gathering place for elections and 
polictically rallies. Summer Revivals were held under a brush arbor on the church grounds. 
Revivals often lasted two weeks and were social as well as religious events.
Local tradition indicates the cemetery was started when a child from a family traveling west 
was buried by a small cedar tree in the church yard. The first marked grave was that of a 
Mother and Daughter who were buried on the other side of the cedar. Elenor Reynolds 
(1812-1880) and her daughter Mary Ann Davis (1829-1880) died within a day of each other.
The Mallard Prairie School once stood near the church and cemetery. It later moved 
across the road and the growth of the cemetery took in land where the school and early 
church building stood. The burial ground now contains over 1000 graves. An annual July 
4th workday evolved into a fund raising event for the cemetery upkeep. (1984)
Henderson County Texas
Highway 198--Payne Springs