Melissa Cemetery (1989)

This cemetery has been the primary burial ground for members of the Melissa Community for generations. Its origin can be traced to the pioneer Sherley/Shirley family, although the specific date of its founding is unknown. The oldest graves in the cemetery are those of William M. Sherley (1856), Lewis Sherley (1867), and Albert Shirley (1879). They may have originally been buried in a family cemetery on the nearby farm of Lewis Sherley and relocated to this site when the Melissa Cemetery was formally established in 1889. Also buried in the Sherley Family Cemetery were a number of family slaves, and that site became the nearby St. Paul Cemetery. A number of Melissa residents were interred here prior to the official designation of the cemetery as a public burial ground in 1889. According to local tradition a railroad worker who died in 1872 is buried here in an unmarked grave. Many pioneer residents of Melissa are interred in this cemetery, including confederate Captain Thomas M. Scott and veterans of the Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, and World War II. The Melissa Cemetery Association cares for the historic graveyard. (1989)

Melissa Cemetery is a historical marker in Melissa, Collin County, dedicated in 1989. It is one of 193 historical markers documented in Collin County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 345 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.2867, -96.5871 near Melissa. The nearest cataloged historic site is Melissa Cemetery (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Melissa Cemetery, St. Paul Baptist Church Cemetery, and Saint Paul Baptist Church.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5085006183. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.