Millsap Cemetery
Millsap, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Deeded to the trustees of the Millsap Graveyard from W.L. Nail in 1885, the cemetery (also known as Old Millsap Cemetery) is situated on a gentle slope near the Bankhead Highway. The cemetery is the final resting place for early Parker County settlers, tradesmen, and brick, mine, and railroad workers. The cemetery has more than 250 burials and more than 30 unmarked stones and grave depressions many of which may be attributed to Mexican mine workers and their families around 1900. Early accounts state that all were welcome for burial in the cemetery which accounts for the variety of surnames and headstone materials. The Millsap Cemetery Association, established in 1970, maintains the cemetery.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Deeded to the town's graveyard trustees in 1885, this hillside cemetery near the Bankhead Highway holds the early settlers, tradesmen, and brick, mine, and railroad workers who built up Millsap. Among its more than 250 burials are some thirty unmarked graves believed to belong to Mexican mine workers and their families around 1900. Early accounts say all were welcome here, which explains the striking variety of surnames and homemade headstones.
Why it matters
An open-to-all burial ground records the diverse laboring people β including immigrant miners often left out of official histories β whose work sustained a Texas industrial town.
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Themes & tags
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