Flower Mound Cemetery
Flower Mound, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Matthew and Isabella Doyle (Douglass) Donald arrived in Denton County, Texas in 1854. That year, Matthew, a successful farmer, set aside 10 acres for a cemetery, campground and the Flower Mound Presbyterian Church. He served as the first Pastor of the church, to which he formally deeded the land in 1879. The cemetery was used soon after it was established. The first burial was reportedly that of a girl who died at a church camp meeting. The earliest marked burial is that of Ola Hall (d. 1873). The earliest birth date on a marker is that of Anderson Spinks (b. 1808). Early Flower Mound families initially had plots. The Donald plot includes burials of the cemetery's founder and his brother, Robert Henderson Donald, who served as church deacon and state legislator. Other families include the Simmons, Bakers and Crawfords. In 1950, the Dyer Family Cemetery was relocated to Flower Mound, due to the building of Lake Grapevine. The Flower Mound Cemetery Association, along with the church, holds an annual decoration day and worship service. The burial ground remains a link to the generations of residents who contributed to Flower Mound's rich history. Historic Texas cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Matthew and Isabella Donald reached Denton County in 1854, and that year Matthew — a farmer who also served as the first pastor of Flower Mound Presbyterian Church — set aside ten acres for a cemetery, campground, and church, formally deeding the land in 1879. The burial ground came into use almost immediately, its earliest marked grave dating to 1873, and it gathered the founding families of the area, including Donald's brother Robert, a church deacon and state legislator. In 1950 the Dyer Family Cemetery was relocated here ahead of the building of Lake Grapevine.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the intertwined church, community, and family roots of one of Denton County's earliest settlements, still honored with an annual decoration day.
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Related people
- · Matthew Donald
- · Isabella Douglass Donald
- · Robert Henderson Donald
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Flower Mound Presbyterian Church
Flower Mound, TX
Organized in 1854 by the Rev. Matthew B. Donald, this was the first Presbyterian congregation in Denton County, taking shape when the region was still frontier settlement. Worshippers first met in one another's homes, then built a log church in 1857–58, later replaced by a frame building and, in 1901, the present sanctuary. The founding minister rests in the church cemetery beside the community he gathered.
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