Stone Gardens: A modern memorial among field rock headstones marks the final resting place of a murder victim
- Dennis McCaslin
- Jul 15, 2025
- 3 min read
Lafayette "Fate" Anderson’s story is woven into the rugged tapestry of the Ozark region, a tale of frontier life and a historical mystery surrounding his grave.
Born in 1845 in Tennessee, Lafayette grew up in Hancock County, a mountainous area where his family, including father John S. Anderson, aged 30, and mother Nancy Wallen Anderson, aged 28, who had both been born in he state, according to census records.
Alongside Lafayette, aged 5, were his siblings Sarah, 9, and Susannah, 7, also all born in Tennessee into a rural pioneer family, rooted in the East Tennessee hills, and engaged in farming.
By 1860, the Anderson family had migrated to Clear Creek Township, Washington County, Arkansas, a move consistent with the westward push of many settlers seeking new opportunities in the Ozarks.
Although specific census records for this year are not detailed here, the relocation aligns with historical patterns of families moving to Arkansas’s fertile lands.
After the death of his mother, Nancy, in 1856, Lafayette and his siblings were raised by their father.
In Arkansas, Lafayette built a life with Martha Jane Hill, born in 1848 in Dallas County, Missouri.
Together, they raised a large family, with at least ten children whose lives spread across Arkansas and beyond, leaving a lasting imprint on the region.
Their children included Alice Lafayette Luker (1871–1930), who married and was buried in Rogers Cemetery, Arkansas; Martha Eulala Austin (1875–1940), who raised nine children in Madison County with Edward Martin Austin; and Andrew Jackson Anderson (1863–1914), a Benton County resident who married Mary Elizabeth Gorden. Other children were Mary Elizabeth Anderson, who married Thadius Lafayette Anderson and moved to Louisiana; William Anderson, possibly William Lafayette Anderson (1866–1952), who lived in Alabama; Sarah Anderson, born around 1841, who married William Bledsaw in Washington County; John Henry Anderson (1881–1962), born the year his father died and later buried beside his mother in Austin Cemetery; Wes Anderson, whose life remains less documented; and Lizzy Anderson.
This sprawling family network reflects the Andersons’ deep roots in the Ozark community.
Lafayette’s life ended tragically on December 24, 1881, when he was shot and killed by T.H. Armstrong near Hindsville around 9 p.m. Historical accounts from newspapers like the Daily Arkansas Gazette describe the two men as friends who had been drinking together.
As the night wore on, the camaraderie reportedly turned bitter. Accounts differ as to what sparked the fatal quarrel -- some point to an old grudge, others to the influence of liquor and pride.
What is known is that shortly after 9 p.m., the dispute escalated. Voices were raised, tempers flared, and before the townspeople could intervene, Armstrong pulled a revolver and fired. Lafayette fell where he stood, mortally wounded, and died at the scene -- his life ended amidst the cold silence of a Christmas night.
Armstrong fled the area, and for years, the case remained a cold ember of local gossip and quiet outrage. Then, in 1886 nearly five years after the killing == The Madison County Democrat reported that Armstrong had been apprehended and jailed in Eureka Springs.
Residents hoped justice might finally be served. But those hopes faded. Armstorng was held in Eureka Springs, but court records from the Huntsville Republican indicate the trial was postponed, and no conviction was ever recorded.
This lack of resolution adds a layer of intrigue to Lafayette’s story, leaving questions about justice unanswered.
Today, Lafayette Anderson is commemorated in Sandstone Mountain Cemetery, also known as Samuel’s Mountain Cemetery, a secluded site in the wooded hills outside Clifty.
ccessible only on foot, the cemetery contains about 60 graves, most unmarked, belonging to pioneer families like the Wallen, Beckett, French, Todd, and Tucker clans who helped settle Madison County in the 1800s.
Lafayette’s grave stands out, marked by a relatively new tombstone inscribed with “Layfette Anderson” and a Masonic emblem, enclosed within a rock-walled pen containing about ten graves.
It is the only named grave within the enclosure, prompting speculation about the identities of those buried nearby—possibly other Andersons or related kin
.Adding to the mystery, local landowner Paul Lantz has suggested that Lafayette’s original burial site may have been submerged when Beaver Lake was created, raising questions about whether his remains were relocated or if the tombstone serves as a symbolic marker.
This uncertainty, combined with the cemetery’s isolated setting, painting Sandstone Mountain with an air of quiet dignity, a place where the past whispers through fieldstones and unmarked plots.
