Medlin Cemetery
Roanoke, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1847 Charles Medlin (1807-1864) and his wife Matilda (Allen) migrated from Missouri with their household and 20 other families to take up land grants on Denton Creek. Also in the wagon train and colony were Charles Medlin's widowed mother and his brother Lewis. Floods broke up the first Medlin settlement, at times called "Garden Valley." Moving to higher grounds in this vicinity, the settlers formed a new neighborhood that was to grow into the town of Roanoke (1.5 miles west). Charles Medlin's daughter Mittie Ann (Born 1828) admired the beauty of this hill, saying she would like to be buried here. The cemetery was opened at her death in April 1850. Her parents, 13 brothers and sisters, and many other close relatives also rest here along with neighbors and others from the locality. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in Denton county. In 1900 James W. Medlin, son of the original land donors, Charles and Matilda Medlin, enlarged the area to more than ten acres, and began selling lots to bring in maintenance funds. Medlin Cemetery Association was formed in 1947. A new access boulevard and other improvements were provided for this cemetery in the 1970s. (1977)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1847 Charles Medlin and his wife Matilda led a wagon train of some twenty families from Missouri to claim land grants on Denton Creek. After floods scattered their first settlement, the group moved to higher ground and seeded the town that became Roanoke. When Charles's daughter Mittie Ann died in 1850, she was buried on a hill she had admired, opening one of Denton County's oldest cemeteries—where her parents, thirteen siblings, and generations of neighbors now rest.
Why it matters
The Medlin cemetery marks the wagon-train migration and land-grant settlement that planted Anglo communities across North Texas in the years of the young republic and early statehood.
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Related people
- · Charles Medlin
- · Matilda Allen Medlin
- · Mittie Ann Medlin
- · James W. Medlin
Themes & tags
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