I.O.O.F. Cemetery
Denton, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Denton Lodge No. 82 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) was chartered in 1859 by a number of the area's most prominent settlers, including John S. Chisum of the Chisum Trail fame. That year I.O.O.F. charter member and Denton merchant James M. Smoot (1822-1862) donated land here for graveyard purposes. The lodge subdivided the cemetery into four sections, each of which contained 350 burial plots. The first recorded burial was that of Anne Isabella Carroll, infant daughter of Joseph and Celia Carroll, in 1860. The site served as Denton's main graveyard and by the early 1880s space had become scarce. In 1883 the lodge enlarged the cemetery by 7.5 acres acquired from adjacent landowners John and Ann McMurray; 6.5 acres acquired from the McMurrays in 1916 further enlarged the cemetery. By the early 1920s burial space was again limited, and in 1924 the cemetery was enlarged by four acres. After maintaining the cemetery for more than 60 years the lodge deeded the 22-acre site to the city of Denton in 1933. Among the approximately 5,800 people buried here are pioneer Denton County settlers, local and state elected officials, and veterans of wars ranging from the Texas Revolution to World War II. (1996)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1859 by some of Denton County's leading settlers — including cattleman John S. Chisum of Chisholm Trail fame — this Odd Fellows lodge established a graveyard on land donated by merchant James M. Smoot. The first burial came in 1860, and the cemetery grew in stages across the next seven decades before the lodge deeded the 22-acre grounds to the city in 1933. Roughly 5,800 people rest here, from pioneer settlers to veterans of every war from the Texas Revolution through World War II.
Why it matters
A frontier fraternal lodge's cemetery became the collective memory of a county, holding the settlers, officials, and soldiers who built North Texas.
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Related people
- · John S. Chisum
- · James M. Smoot
- · Anne Isabella Carroll
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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