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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) |
