Smith County High Point Trip Report

Dates: November 28 and December 20, 2003
Author: Daniel Smith

November 28: We visited the house hp area in Tyler (2828 Curtis Street) at about 5:00 PM the day after Thanksgiving. We met with a seemingly grumpy man who understandably did not want to be disturbed. I rang the doorbell and as it took him about 6 minutes to answer, we decided that no one was home and walked about his yard hitting the high areas (I think the highest is at the base of one of the trees in the front). After we had already gotten back into the car, I saw him come to the door. This is when I explained my reason for being there and was told to shoo. No harm done, I suppose.

December 20: We hit the other 2 areas. I found a semi-public tract that actually provides dirt road access to the cemetery (see directions below). The large hp area was a small barbed wire fence jump away from the graves. We took a moment to glance at some of the memorials, several dating back to the turn of the 19th to 20th century. It really is sad to see such a historic area in disrepair; my great-uncle's tomb was vandalized in Red River County TX and it bothers me to no end to see that someone has the nerve to desecrate a cemetery! There was also an electric fence to contend with to actually get into the hp field, though there was an entrance at the west end of the pasture. I don't believe that the 671-foot spot elevation is accurate as the highest point of this particular area (677 feet perhaps); there was seemingly more than a 1-foot rise in the area immediately surrounding this hp.

Finally, we contoured along a ranch road and some pens & fencing to reach the smaller, south area. By this time, it was too dark for my camera to get any pictures, and we really couldn't see our surroundings as time went on. I believe that I saw another house close by, but if so, all the lights were off inside. I should also mention that both of the hp areas are not on the property of the Rolling K Ranch (see note below). There was a house I saw through the trees from FM 1253 just south of where we parked, and these are likely the hp property owners. Their newspaper was still outside at 6:50 PM, so I don't believe that anyone was home.

Just a gut feeling, but as long as the house area in Tyler wasn't graded after the topo was drawn, I believe that this is the higher area. It is much more prominent and is a "sharper" summit than either of those near the Dunkley Cemetery. However, since so much distance separates the areas, I still think that it's necessary to visit all 3 areas.

Directions to Dunkley Cemetery:

Follow FM 1253 along the west side of HP hill.
Turn right into a private drive next to a sign reading Rolling K Ranch - CW & Sharon Kendall.
Continue down drive until ranch gate (I parked here to the right of their drive & left a note on car window stating that I was looking for the cemetery).
Take dirt road (gate at your immediate right when facing the electronic gate) leading directly up the hill (this takes you to the slight rise - Point 660+ feet, due north of the cemetery).
Take forced right (south) along the same dirt road and arrive at the cemetery in about 100 yards (be careful as many of the graves have fallen and are tripping hazards).

Note that there was neither a No Trespassing sign nor a Private Property sign along the dirt road leading to the cemetery. There were several gates breaking off from this main road that had such signs, however. The road to the Dunkley Cemetery itself appears to be public.