Dresden Cemetery

The Pioneer town of Dresden was originally named for its founder, Ethan Melton (1793-1873), who settled here in 1841. The first post office in Navarro County was established in Navarro County was established in Melton in 1846. The original three acre portion of this cemetery, probably opened for burials in the 1840's was donated to the community by Ethan Melton by 1850. In 1852 the growing settlement, also called "Richland" or "Spanky", was renamed "Dresden" by Jacob Hartzell (1790-1881) who operated an Indian Trading post and Dr. W. S. Robinson (1823-87), the town's first doctor.

Many of the early graves in Dresden cemetery are unmarked or marked with plain stones from nearby Post Oak Creek. Among the oldest marked graves are those of Barnett Hollingsworth (1801-74), one of the 48 Civil War veterans buried here, and the Rev. James Johnson (1803 -77), a Cumberland Presbyterian minister.

Dresden Methodist Church serving as a community church, has occupied a site adjacent to the cemetery since the 1850's. Care for the burial ground is provided by the Dresden Cemetery Association whose members have met annually since its founding in 1877. The plot now (1975) covers 17.09 acres with over 2,000 graves. The Pioneer Village has vanished, but Dresden Cemetery is still used by descendants of the first settlers (1975)

The text of the historical markers have been posted here with the permission of the Texas Historical Commission
 

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DRESDEN MARKER DEDICATION - More than 300 persons attended the unveiling of the Teas historical Marker at the Dresden Cemetery, Friday, May 7. Taking part in the ceremony were, left to right, Noel Furra, president of the Dresden Cemetery Association, who accepted the marker; Grove Melton, a descendant of Ethan Melton, who founded Dresden in 1841; and J. Marshall Tatum, who was attending his 85th consecutive memorial day at the cemetery, which was celebrating its 99th meeting. Melton unveiled the marker and presented it to the cemetery association.

Blooming Grove Times - May 12, 1976
Clipping Submitted by Karen Rost

Marker dedication set for Dresden Cemetery

Navarro County Historical Survey Committee Chairman Nelson Ross has announced that an official Texas Historical Marker will be placed at Dresden Cemetery at 11 a.m. on May 7.
Plans for the dedication ceremony will be announced in the near future.
The marker will carry the following inscription: { see marker text above }
The marker is sponsored by the Dresden Cemetery Association. The cemetery is located on FM 744, six miles southwest of Blooming Grove.

The Corsicana Daily Sun - April 22, 1976

Dresden Cemetery marker dedicated

A crowd of around 300 gathered in the Dresden Cemetery Friday for the annual cemeery memorial day, and the dedication of a Texas Historical Marker.
Master of ceremonies George F. Baum Jr. Introduced J. Marshall Tatum, who was attending his 85th consecutive memorial day at the cemetery. Tatum gave the invocation for the dedication ceremony.
Guest speaker at the dedication was John Clifford, a former pastor at the Blooming Grove-Dresden United Methodist Church. Clifford called on all those present to honor the pioneers buried in Dresden, Cemetery.
The Marker was unveiled by Grover Melton, a descendant of Ethan Melton, who founded Dresden in 1841. Accepting the marker was Noel Furra, president of the cemetery association.
Susan Laster, wife of Richard Laster, present pastor at the Blooming Grove-Dresden United Methodist Church, sang a hymn and gave the benediction

The Corsicana Daily Sun - May 9, 1976
 

Dresden Cemetery Marker Dedicated

Corsicana Daily Sun – May 9, 1976 pg 3