Sept. 8 1873 – 2023  6th in a series by Andy & Sherri Weeks

Dodd City Cemetery

Dodd City, Texas -- The first land (Sec. A, Rows 1-17) for the cemetery was donated by Edmund and Elizabeth Dodd for their 5-month-old daughter, Frances Jane, who was the first known burial on Nov. 7, 1842. This land was used by the Dodd family and then by many other folks in nearby communities such as, Lick/Doddsville/Dodd, Quincey, Shade Grove, etc. It was not long until it was more than a family plot. On Sept 8, 1873 Edmund and Elizabeth Dodd donated the land about two miles to the west of the cemetery for the new railroad town of Dodd City. Soon after this the cemetery became known as the Dodd City Cemetery.

In the early years (1840s -1890s) before a caretaker was hired to care for the cemetery the family members worked to keep their family plots clean. Sometime before Edmund Dodd’s death in 1902 control of the cemetery had fell to the Smyrna/Dodd City Masonic Lodge #407 which was established in 1891, per Ruby Spelce Holleman (1904-1998) in a personal interview by the authors on March 17, 1997. Per Ruby, her grandfather, Jim was hired as the caretaker for many years and most likely paid by the Masonic Lodge.  She also stated that in the late 1890s her grandfather, James L. "Jim" Spelce (1850-1911) and his wife Mattie (McDowell) Spelce donated land for the west portion of section A (Sec. A, Rows 18-33).  The cemetery has been added onto several times since 1842. 

In 1936 Dr. JM Donaldson donated land for section B and in 1958 he donated land for section C. In 1960 Harte Padgett, Jr. donated land for section D and in 2012 Frank Swartz traded lots for land that will become section E.

According to ads, annual all-day cleaning took place with a lunch and dinner served on the grounds. This was organized by a “Committee” maybe through the Masonic Lodge, concerned citizens or community leaders.

On March 2, 1949, the town organized the Dodd City Cemetery Association: President-Mrs. S.P. Shellie Mills, Treasurer-Mrs. W.C. McGee, Secretary-Charles Rayburn. They selected a five man committee to hire a caretaker: Collie Bridges, Pete Berryhill, Fred Hammer, Gomer Fry and Floyd Lowery. They hired Mr. Claude Wommack.

Ruby Holleman remembers the first meeting and Clean-Up Day that Shellie Mills’ letter refers to (see link below):

"Everyone would bring a cover dish and they would clean their family's graves first then help others with the rest of the cemetery. We would eat lunch at noon, there was always lots of good food! We had a good time, but it was hard work. The place was a mess!"

The first workday of the newly formed association was postponed to March 11, 1949 because of weather per ad.

Over the past 181 years hundreds of great folks have served this cemetery.  We owe a debt to them and owe a huge THANK YOU to the many who still give of their time and money to keep the cemetery looking great. 

As of May 2023 there are 2,360 known burials in this cemetery. If you have any family or friends buried here, please do your part to keep the cemetery looking great.

The current board members are: Dale Horton, Cindy Ferguson, Debra Granstaff, Shawn Rencher, Robyn Dockery, Teffany Kavanaugh and Lyndell Vaught.

Donations can be made to: Dodd City Cemetery Association, c/o Cindy Ferguson, P.O. Box 45,Dodd City, Texas 75438, 903-326-3434, Email: doddcitycemetery@gmail.com

See more history at: Fannin GenWeb https://www.txfannin.org/cemetery/041/dodd-city-cemetery - Read the letter from Shellie Mills to Myrtie Taylor that tells of the beginning of the Association, the 1938 article from Clarence Pearson, past board members & more.