In April, 1865 freed Texas female slaves, Delia Scott and Chal Hamilton who were sisters from the John Havis plantation near the Barnes community got together to form a church and cemetery for themselves and other freed slaves. Mr. Havis gave them permission to choose a site on his property where they could build a church and cemetery. That spot is where the Lily Island Cemetery is located today. It got that name from the fact that the site contained many beautiful lillies. The first place of worship consisted only of a brush arbor, which was constructed on a knoll beneath two oak trees. The freedmen were given two and one half acres for their church and cemetery, but deeds were not offically given to them until 1882. In 1903 the church members moved the church building to a new location and all of the original land was then used for the cemetery. The Lily Island Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Polk County that continues to serve the black community in the northeast section of the county.-----History by Cannon Pritchard