Overton Cemetery

THE OVERTON CEMETERY IS LOCATED NEAR THE SITE OF WILLIAM PERRY OVERTON’S HOME, BUILT IN 1853-54, ON LAND ORIGINALLY A PORTION OF THE DUGOLD MACFARLAND SURVEY NO. 985 OF 1280 ACRES. MACFARLAND RECEIVED THE BOUNTY LAND FROM THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS FOR HIS PARTICIPATION IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO AND THEN ASSIGNED HIS PATENT TO JOHN NOLEN, A LAND MANAGER. THE LAND WAS THEN DEEDED TO AARON OVERTON IN 1851 FOR THE PAYMENT OF BACK TAXES. NORTH CAROLINA NATIVE AARON OVERTON (1784-1860) AND HIS SONS, CASWELL C. (1816-?) AND WILLIAM PERRY (1823-1903), WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO COME TO THE AREA, SETTLING ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE TRINITY RIVER IN 1844. THE FIRST HOME, ERECTED BY AARON, WAS ONE OF THE FIRST FRAME HOUSES, AND NOW ONE OF THE OLDEST HOUSES, IN THE COUNTY. THE HOMESTEAD WAS WELL KNOWN IN ITS TIME BY PIONEERS FOR THE OVERTONS’ GRIST MILL AND HOSPITALITY. THE FIRST FAMILY MEMBER BURIED IN THE CEMETERY WAS LIZZIE E. OVERTON (d. 1870), DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM PERRY AND WIFE MARTHA. MOST OF THE GRAVE MARKERS INSIDE THE FENCED AREA ARE FOR OVERTON FAMILY MEMBERS, INCLUDING WILLIAM PERRY’S SONS CASWELL (d. 1873) AND OSCAR ALONZO (d. 1880). HENRY C. DAVIS (d. 1889), FATHER OF WILLIAM PERRY’S SECOND WIFE, JESSIE DAVIS PRICE, WAS ALSO BURIED HERE AFTER BEING STRUCK BY A TRAIN ON THE NEARBY RAILROAD TRACKS. OTHER GRAVES BELONG TO THOSE WHO LIVED ON THEIR LAND AND FRIENDS SUCH AS DR. KIAZA TSUKAHARA (1873-1928), KNOWN AS “DR. JAP,” WHO IS BURIED IN THE FRONT CORNER OF THE FENCED PORTION OF THE CEMETERY, AND OLLIE LEATHERWOOD (1894-1979), WHO MOVED INTO THE OVERTON HOUSE. IT IS ALSO SAID THAT THERE ARE THREE CONFEDERATE VETERANS WHO WERE BEING CARED FOR IN THE OVERTONS’ HOUSE BURIED TO THE LEFT OF THE GATE IN UNMARKED GRAVES.

Overton Cemetery is a historical marker in Dallas, Dallas County, dedicated in 2004. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7178, -96.7716 near Dallas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Miller Family Cemetery (cemetery), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Honey Springs, Smith Family, and Joppee Community.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016725. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.