By Christopher Amos
The Community News
The popularity of a Parker County Historical Commission program prompted moving it to a larger venue last week, and more than 130 people filled Central Christian Church fellowship hall in Weatherford to learn of ancient people who lived in East Parker County.
The event featured Mary Lane Garmon sharing stories and details of her father’s archeological findings. Her father, Homer Norris, was a lifelong resident of the Annetta area, an artist, and a geologist. Norris’ attention to detail can be enjoyed at Doss Heritage and Culture Center, Weatherford, including artifacts, weapons, tools, and ancient animal bones that Norris found in the area.
The program also featured Texas Archaeological Society past-president James Everett adding details to the morning’s primary subject, the finding and study of ancient skeletons. Everett was part of the 1985 study of two human remains known as the Annetta Red Ochre Burial. He also discussed in length a near-intact bison skeleton found on its side 29 inches in sandy terrace about one-half mile from the Red Ochre Burial site.
By searching Annetta Red Ochre Burial, you can study photos and graphs of the site and the artifacts found with the remains. The sketches online and in books are those of Homer Norris. Out of respect for the dead, it is the policy of many archaeologists’ groups and authorities not to publish photographs of human remains.
The bones were uncovered on private property beside Annetta Centerpoint Road, 100 feet west of FM 5. The men were buried four meters apart, possibly at different times, with a circle of shells and small items around each. The second had two arrowheads found in the chest and later examination at the Smithsonian Institute revealed both bodies had been painted with red ochre iron oxide, a tradition of many ancient tribes throughout history and around the world.
The area where the remains were found is referred to in archaeological circles as the Bell Camp. Bell, for the original property owner Nettie Bell, and camp, because many artifacts spanning a period of thousands of years have been found in the area.
After 35 years, including delays from the COVID shutdown, the Smithsonian Institute finally examined and returned the remains to Annetta, thanks mostly to persistent requests from James Everett and longtime Annetta Cemetery curator Mickey Hoefer.
“This would have never happened if it wasn’t for Mickey,” Garmon told the audience. “I would never have been able to get the remains back to Annetta on my own and they needed to be here. It is the only rightful thing to return them to where they were first buried.”
The remains were re-interred in 2022 at Annetta Cemetery, 2667 W. FM 5, Annetta, not far from the original excavation site. The men were buried in two separate urns with the artifacts they were found with, laid to rest next to the man who had had so much interest in them, Homer Norris with his wife Rosemary. A marker with a lengthy description is 80 yards past the cemetery gate to the right (north) and 20 yards to the right from the road.
Garman paused with emotions as she closed the meeting reading from her father’s notes and emphasizing his favorite saying, “Knowing our history is life-giving.”
“A lot of those old ones who have gone on are in the beautiful Annetta Cemetery being cared for by Mickey, and my mom and dad have joined them,” she concluded. “So when Mickey says, ‘Every Stone tells a story,’ it makes me think of the small stone arrow point left by ancient people for my 10-year-old dad to find one day during the depression. That little stone sparked his love of history for another 80 years.”
Find Parker County Historical Commission on Facebook to learn more about the group’s function and upcoming lecture events.
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