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 Driving around Ellis County on a rainy afternoon, it’s not hard for the mood to turn a bit sinister as searching for cemeteries turns into an adventure. Actually, many of the cemeteries in Ellis County date back to the 1800s with historical markings dotting the landscape and reminiscing of the cemeteries’ early beginnings.
Bells Chapel Cemetery – Bells Chapel Road off 813 - Rockett
This cemetery was founded in 1875. The church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the cemetery were named in honor of the Confederate War veteran Jodie M. Bell. Later the Red Oak Masonic Lodge No. 461 that was charted in 1876 helped to build a two-story chapel and meeting hall. The lodge moved to Red Oak in 1894.
Bethel Cemetery - Bethel Road - Waxahachie
It was in 1852 that N.P. Sims gave 10 acres of land at High Springs for a church and burial ground and several graves from that time still remain. The earliest marked grave dates to 1873 and is the Rev. J.W. Reynolds. The cemetery has over 400 graves with three of the original land donors buried there.
 Mt. Zion Cemetery – Mt. Zion Road - Midlothian
This cemetery was actually the burial ground for an Indian who often rested on this hill and was killed by his wild prairie horse in the 1850s. The first anglo-settler was buried here soon after followed by Coleman Jenkins who died in 1861. While the cemetery is all that remains of the pioneer community from that time, it is definitely a tribute to those that came before. There is also a record that some unmarked graves of children could exist between the two gates. With many early and unmarked graves in this area no burials are permitted in the front of the cemetery.
Ovilla Cemetery – Ovilla Road and Rock Creek Road - Ovilla
The Ovilla Cemetery was founded in the mid-1800s with the first burial on record being in 1884, the wife of Tom C. McElroy. The Ovilla community was actually founded in 1844 and it was in 1886 that this four acres was deeded the church for a building and burial ground. There are roughly 440 people buried in the Ovilla Cemetery some early settlers, seven veterans of the Civil War and veterans of World War I, II, Korea and Vietnam.
Sardis Cemetery – Off Highway 287 - Sardis
The first known grave in the Sardis Cemetery was in 1871, a woman who died in childbirth named Susan Jane Rachael (Peevey). An early settler named Robert Mayfield donated this land for the graveyard for families in the Sardis community. The graveyard holds graves from veterans from a variety of wars and many pioneers who lived in the area over the years.
Shiloh Cemetery - Shiloh Road & FM 644- Ovilla
This is said to be the first cemetery in Ovilla. The earliest burials in this cemetery date back, like in the Ovilla Cemetery, to the mid-1800s beginning with the Peters  Colony Pioneers who founded Ovilla. The earliest marked grave is from 1851, that of Mary C. Patton who was the wife of Elder James E. Patton. The Patton family was, in fact, one of the original settlers. Many veterans of the Civil War are buried in this cemetery as are members of the fraternal lodges and two 19th-century Ovilla postmasters. This cemetery also has graves that are only marked by rocks or broken stone with no information.
St. Paul Cemetery – Highway 287, five miles south of Mansfield
Land for the cemetery was given to the community by a family named Gardner back in 1881. Ms. Gardner wanted the cemetery to have a biblical name when she and her husband gave the land to the community thus it was named St. Paul Cemetery in 1906. The first known grave in the cemetery was in 1875 and that of a Pearl Gainer. Other pioneers that are buried here include settlers who died of the 1918 influenza epidemic.
Unnamed Cemetery – Near I-35E and Exit #386 – Italy
Graves are actually now in what is a cow pasture and are found by the domes. It is also reported some of the graves are located among the trees in the center of the field. Graves dates back to the mid-1800s with one marker reading “Our father and mother are gone. They lie beneath the sod. Dear parents we know you rest with God.”
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