Shadrach Wooten was the first person buried in Western Prong Cemetery.
Columbus County, North Carolina was created from Bladen County in 1808. James Shipman, John Wingate, Shadrach Wooten, James B. White, Thomas Fink, Solomon Reaves, and Absalom Powell were appointed commissioners to locate "a proper and convenient place to erect public buildings as soon as possible" after the act was passed. [Bladen County Heritage North Carolina Vol. 1; Bladen County Heritage Book Committee and County Heritage, Inc., Walworth Publishing Co., 1999; #728 - The Shipman Family]