Photo by Jamie Engle Cemetery Association of Murphy board members Will Cottle, left, William Jowers, right, and Don Seilert (behind Jowers) get ready to lay sand to level one of the grave markers during an association Work Day to prepare the cemetery for the Nov. 7 History Blooms! celebration.

Historical marker recognition, planting set for Saturday

By Jamie Engle
Staff Writer

Decatur Maxwell Murphy Cemetery’s historical marker recognizing the cemetery’s designation as a Historic Texas Cemetery will be dedicated  Saturday, Nov. 7. Following the ceremony, guests are invited to plant bulbs and flowers at the cemetery.

Activities are part of the History Blooms! celebration, beginning at 11 a.m.

In 2001, the cemetery was designated a Historic Texas Cemetery. In 2007, Roxanne and Kent Bogdan, lifetime members of the CAM, donated $1,500 for the historical marker. The marker arrived earlier this fall and was installed near the cemetery’s front gate.

Following the dedication ceremony will be recognition of dedicated CAM supporters.

“We couldn’t do what we do without the support of our members and all the area businesses,” said Ann Sielert, CAM secretary. “The certificates are just a small token of our appreciation for all they do. We could really use new members, some young blood and worker bees! There is always so much to be done! One can get great satisfaction from helping preserve this part of Murphy’s history, and we hope more people will join us.”

Following the ceremony, CAM members and guests will plant flowers and bulbs at the cemetery. Murphy’s Professional Landscaping, owned by the Williford family (Ron, Pat, Rhonda and Chris), is donating bulbs, mulch and several bushes for planting. Wear “messy” clothes, and be sure to bring shovels and insect repellant, advises Sielert.

“We haven’t had a good hard freeze yet, so we could have several uninvited insect guests,” she said.

Recently the CAM was awarded a $1,000 grant by the Collin County Historical Commission. The grant will be used for replacing part of the front fencing.

“We’re extremely excited about the grant and will certainly put the money to good use,” Sielert said.

Join the History Blooms! celebration Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Decatur Maxwell Murphy Cemetery,  just east of the Murphy Road Plano ISD property (behind and south of Kimbrough Stadium, off of Tom Clevenger Road). The dedication ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and planting begins about noon.

To join the Cemetery Association of Murphy, regular members pay $25 for the first year, then $10 yearly renewal after that. Lifetime membership is a one-time fee of $100. Send a check payable to the Cemetery Association of Murphy to: Don Sielert, 3516 Black Gold Dr., McKinney, TX, 75070. For more information, contact Ann Sielert at dsielert@sbcglobal.net.
 

Maxwell Cemetery In 1886, while a resident of Coryell County, James Maxwell, Jr. sold three acres of land for five dollars to trustees C.A. McMillan, H. Willaford, and W. Brinson and formally established Maxwell Cemetery. Members of the families of the three trustees are buried at the cemetery, but no Maxwell family members are interred at the site. The cemetery’s earliest marked burial is that of Samuel McCreary, who died in 1853. Over one-third of the graves are those of small children, showing the difficulty of childhood at the time. Burials at the cemetery include veterans of the Black Hawk War, Civil War and World War I. The Maxwell Cemetery served the Murphy area for over 100 years, with the last burial in 1966.