A hilltop family cemetery in Crawford County featuring a circular stone layout, a Masonic pentagram headstone, and decades of local legend about apparitions and phantom horses.
39 Crabtree Rd, Davisville, MO 65456
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to visit; note that land surrounding the cemetery is private — access the hilltop via the public right of way only.
Access
Limited Access
Steep hillside accessed via a stone staircase set into the slope; uneven ground throughout.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1860 · One of the most architecturally distinctive family cemeteries in Crawford County · Associated with the Woodlock family who were central figures in the 19th-century Davisville community · Stone-staircase hillside access is an unusual regional construction technique · Masonic pentagram headstone is a documented example of fraternal-order grave iconography in rural Missouri
The Woodlock family arrived in Crawford County, Missouri during the mid-nineteenth century, part of a wave of settlement that transformed the Ozark hill country along the Bourbeuse River watershed. Patrick Woodlock and his wife Henrietta Dawson Woodlock built their homestead on land gifted by Henrietta's father, William Dawson of St. James, Missouri. In its heyday the nearby Woodlock community included five stores, a blacksmith shop, a gristmill, a saloon, and a large hotel and resort known locally as Woodlocks, attesting to the family's central role in the area's commerce.
The cemetery Patrick Woodlock created on the hilltop above the community is among the most visually distinctive family burial grounds in the Ozarks. He carved the enclosure into the hillside and set a stone staircase into the slope for access — an unusual architectural choice that still stands. The graves are arranged in a near-circular pattern rather than conventional rows, with a large central monument. Most interments carry the Woodlock surname, reflecting the site's use as a family rather than community cemetery.
One headstone on the right side of the circular enclosure bears a five-pointed star carved in relief — a pentagram. Local lore for decades attached occult significance to the symbol. Researchers and the Davisville Historical Society have since identified it as a Masonic emblem; membership in Masonic lodges was common among prominent rural Missourians in the 19th century, and the five-pointed star appears frequently in Masonic iconography of the period. A separate grave sits outside the main circle, which has also fueled legend.
The community of Davisville declined in the early 20th century as mining operations became obsolete and younger residents relocated to larger towns. Today Davisville is little more than a post office, but the Woodlock Cemetery remains, maintained by descendants and the local historical society, which installed a new fence and gate in recent years. The property surrounding the cemetery is privately owned; Missouri law guarantees limited public right of ingress for cemetery visits during reasonable hours.
Sources
Local lore around Woodlock Cemetery dates at least to the mid-20th century and has been documented across multiple independent sources including the Underground Ozarks forum, Missouri Haunted Houses, and 101 the Eagle radio's regional folklore coverage. The circular arrangement of graves, the isolated hilltop setting accessible only by stone stairs, and the prominently carved pentagram on one headstone combined to create a potent atmosphere for ghost stories.
According to accounts collected by Underground Ozarks contributors and regional paranormal writers, visitors have reported seeing apparitions of both human figures and a horse walking the top of the hillside, particularly at dusk. One interment located outside the protective circle of the main cemetery wall has long prompted speculation about the deceased's relationship to the family or community — some legends hold that the person buried outside the circle was an outcast or wrongdoer, though no documentary evidence supports this interpretation.
The Davisville Historical Society noted on its Facebook page that the cemetery's reputation has attracted ghost enthusiasts despite no verified sightings being on record — a candid acknowledgment that the legend outruns the evidence. The pentagram's Masonic explanation has been widely publicized since at least the 2010s, but the cemetery remains a fixture in Missouri dark-tourism itineraries, discussed on 101 the Eagle and listed in regional haunted-place guides.
The isolated hilltop, the unusual stonework, and the genuine antiquity of the site make it a compelling piece of Ozark funerary heritage regardless of the paranormal tradition. Visitors are encouraged to treat it as a historic family resting place and to respect the private land on which it sits.
Notable Entities
Explore the distinctive circular stone-walled enclosure, read headstones dating to the Woodlock family's mid-19th-century settlement, and view the Masonic pentagram carved into one grave marker — the emblem that launched a generation of local legend.
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