St. Paul Cemetery
Britton, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1881 William Gardner deeded this site to the Mountain Creek School community. This tract, which contained graves dating from 1875, remained in use as a public cemetery, and adjoining land was set aside for a school. After W.S. Fife and his wife, L.M., gave adjacent land for a church in 1894, the property became known as St. Paul Church and Cemetery. Burials here include those of pioneer area settlers and several victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic. The school closed in the 1940s, and the land was later conveyed to the cemetery association. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William Gardner deeded this ground to the Mountain Creek School community in 1881, though graves here already dated to 1875, and adjoining land was set aside for a school. After the Fife family gave land for a church in 1894, the place became St. Paul Church and Cemetery, its rows holding pioneer settlers and several victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic. When the school closed in the 1940s the tract passed to the cemetery association.
Why it matters
The burial ground quietly records both the settlement of rural Ellis County and the reach of the great 1918 flu into small Texas communities.
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Related people
- ¡ William Gardner
- ¡ W.S. Fife
Related events
- ¡ 1918 influenza epidemic
Themes & tags
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