William Sachse Cemetery
Garland, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
William Sachse, a native of Prussia, arrived in nearby Collin County in 1845 as a Peters colonist. He became a successful businessman, rancher, and trader, and participated in several cattle drives to Kansas. His business successes over time allowed him to acquire more than 5000 acres of land in Collin and Dallas Counties. In 1886, Sachse gave some of this land to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad for a railway line and townsite. The community that grew up around the railroad was named Sachse in his honor. Sachse moved his family to the new town and soon set aside two acres of land for a church and this cemetery. The graveyard has been used throughout its history as a public burial ground. The oldest marked grave, that of William Sachse, is dated 1899. Sachse's second wife, Martha (Frost), a number of their descendants, as well as many early settlers and their descendants also are buried here. Some of the family names recorded here are Salmon, Herring, Ingram, House, Harper, and Brand. The William Sachse Cemetery, with its ties to early settlement in this part of the state, is an important reminder of the area's heritage.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William Sachse, born in Prussia, came to North Texas in 1845 as a Peters colonist and built a thriving life as a businessman, rancher, and trader who drove cattle to Kansas and amassed thousands of acres. In 1886 he gave land to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad for a line and townsite, and the community that grew up there took his name. He set aside two acres for a church and this cemetery, where his 1899 grave is the oldest marked and where generations of area settlers now rest.
Why it matters
Sachse's journey from Prussian immigrant to town founder captures how European newcomers and the railroad together stitched the map of settled North Texas.
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Related people
- · William Sachse
Related events
- · Peters Colony settlement
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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