Marystown Cemetery

MARYSTOWN CEMETERY FAMILIES MOVED TO THIS AREA IN THE 1850s, SETTLING AMONG THE BEAUTIFUL TREES SURROUNDING QUIL MILLER CREEK AND ITS SPRINGS WHICH RAN ALMOST YEAR-ROUND. ONE OF THE EARLIEST SETTLERS, CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER J. S. WILSHIRE, FARMED WITH HIS WIFE AND SEVEN CHILDREN BY 1853. IN 1869, THOMAS W. HOLLINGSWORTH OPENED A MILL AND A LARGE MERCANTILE STORE. THE TOWN WAS NAMED MARYSVILLE FOR HIS WIFE, MARY, THE COMMUNITY’S FIRST SCHOOLTEACHER, WHO TAUGHT IN HER HOME JUST WEST OF THE CEMETERY. A POST OFFICE OPERATED FROM 1874-1901 WITH THE NAME OF MARYSTOWN, SINCE TEXAS ALREADY HAD A MARYSVILLE. ONLY THE BAPTIST CHURCH AND CEMETERY REMAIN FROM THE HISTORIC SETTLEMENT. MARYSTOWN CEMETERY COVERS MORE THAN TWO ACRES OF THE 1859 SURVEY OF ISAAC A. JACKSON. ABOUT 1860, HE SET ASIDE THE LAND FOR USE AS A CEMETERY WHEN HE BURIED A FAMILY MEMBER WHOSE GRAVE IS NOW UNKNOWN. THE OLDEST MARKED GRAVE IS FOR MARTHA JANE (LEDBETTER) WARE, WHO DIED ON MARCH 13, 1864. ABOUT 15 BURIALS ARE DIPHTHERIA VICTIMS FROM A PASSING 1870s WAGON TRAIN. PIONEER SETTLERS BURIED HERE INCLUDE ISAAC AND FANNIE JACKSON, THOMAS AND MARY HOLLINGSWORTH, AND ROBERT AND WILLIAM BILLINGSLEY, TWO SIGNERS OF THE 1854 PETITION TO CREATE JOHNSON COUNTY. MANY VETERANS OF U.S. MILITARY CONFLICTS DATING TO THE CIVIL WAR ARE INTERRED HERE. SEVERAL HEADSTONES DEPICT FRATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS INCLUDING WOODMEN OF THE WORLD AND MASONS. THE GENERAL LANDSCAPE IS TRADITIONAL IN NATURE. ENTRANCE IS THROUGH A HISTORIC WROUGHT IRON ARCH GATE. FAMILY PLOTS ARE MOSTLY CURBED OR FENCED. THE MARYSTOWN CEMETERY ASSOCIATION FORMED IN 1987 TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE AND OVERSIGHT OF THIS HISTORIC BURIAL GROUND AND ITS GRAVES WHICH PROVIDE A RECORD OF AREA FAMILIES AND A PIONEER RURAL COMMUNITY.

Marystown Cemetery is a historical marker in Burleson, Johnson County, dedicated in 2013. It is one of 71 historical markers documented in Johnson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 139 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.4622, -97.3202 near Burleson. The nearest cataloged historic site is Union Hill Presbyterian Church and Cemetery (historical marker), about 1.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include Jones-Egan Cemetery, Bethesda Cemetery, and Bethesda Community.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507017546. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.