Carrollton Black Cemetery
Carrollton, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Carrollton's early African-Americans, many of whom were former slaves, helped settle and build the community. By 1871, this portion of forty acres belonging to Scott Boswell, Sr., an African-American farmer, was a community cemetery. In 1915, C.B. Baxley acquired the cemetery and surrounding land. Although the site holds dozens of burials, only three names (Ned Welch, Loving, and Davis) are now visible. Joyce Collins (1960) is believed to be the last burial. No records exist for others buried here; flooding from the Elm Fork of the Trinity River destroyed many grave markers. Once threatened by new development, the site is a precious record of the early history of Carrollton. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2010
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Carrollton's early African-American residents, many of them formerly enslaved, helped settle and build the town, and by 1871 a corner of farmer Scott Boswell Sr.'s land had become their community cemetery. Though it holds dozens of burials, only three names remain legible, and flooding from the Elm Fork of the Trinity River destroyed many grave markers over the years. Once threatened by development, the ground survives as one of the few tangible records of Black Carrollton's earliest generation.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a precious and fragile record of freedpeople who built a Texas community yet were nearly erased from its written history.
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Related people
- · Scott Boswell, Sr.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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