Chambersville Cemetery
McKinney, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Elisha and Margaret Ann (Mannon) Chambers came to Texas from Indiana in 1847. Their infant son Lewis Cass Chambers died in 1853 and they donated the land on which he was interred for a cemetery and school. This site was once at the crossroads of a busy farm community of several homes near a cotton gin, school, church, and two general stores, one with a post office. Those buried here served their community and country as storekeepers, schoolteachers, postmasters, farmers, blacksmiths, soldiers, homemakers and musicians. The school was moved in 1931 and the first burial in that section took place in 1941. In 1999, about 950 graves graced Chambersville Cemetery. It continues to serve surrounding communities and remains a chronicle of Collin County history. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Elisha and Margaret Ann Chambers came to Texas from Indiana in 1847, and when their infant son died in 1853 they gave the land where he was buried for a cemetery and school. The site once stood at the crossroads of a busy farm community of homes, a cotton gin, stores, and a post office, and those buried here were its storekeepers, teachers, blacksmiths, farmers, and soldiers. By 1999 some 950 graves recorded the community's long history.
Why it matters
The cemetery chronicles a whole vanished crossroads settlement, preserving in its stones the ordinary lives that built and sustained rural Collin County.
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Related people
- · Elisha Chambers
- · Margaret Ann Chambers
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Chambersville Methodist Church
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Though Chambersville dates to 1847, its residents worshiped in non-denominational services at scattered locations until the Methodist congregation formally organized in 1905. J. M. Bryan deeded land across from the community school, where members first met in a white frame building and later built anew in 1948. Its Harvest Festival, begun in 1945, grew into a lasting Chambersville tradition.
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Elisha and Peggy Ann Chambers brought their seven children to Texas in 1847, claiming headrights in Collin and Dallas Counties and donating land for a cemetery and school that seeded the community named in their honor. By the turn of the century Chambersville thrived with a sawmill, cotton gin, blacksmith, post office, and stores, while its school doubled as auditorium, dance hall, and even a roller rink. During World War I the Red Cross worked out of the school as local women rolled bandages for the troops.
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