Crossroads Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Crossroads Cemetery, out in Collin County. Now settle in, because this one starts before the church even had walls. The earliest marked grave in Crossroads Cemetery belongs to an infant girl who died in 1875.

Seven years before there was even a congregation gathered nearby to mourn. That little grave was already waiting in the ground when the local Baptist community built a church in 1882, approximately three miles east of Celina, just north of where the cemetery sits today. The land itself, an acre and a half, had been jointly owned by two brothers, Abiel D. and Edmond Stelzer.

Two brothers, one piece of ground, and out of that arrangement grew the Crossroads Baptist Church. Now, a church planted in the country has a way of following the people, and the people, as they tend to do, followed the railroad. In 1902, the Crossroads Baptist Church was moved to the new town of Celina, drawn there by the arrival of the St.

Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway. And when a church moves to town, it gets a town name to go with it. The name was changed to First Baptist Church of Celina.

The congregation carried themselves forward into a new century, but the old cemetery they left behind didn't get forgotten entirely. In 1930, the church filed a quitclaim deed for the Crossroads Cemetery. A legal letting-go, of sorts.

And yet the cemetery endured. It continues to serve the residents of the area to this day, tending to its purpose the same way it always has, quietly, and without moving an inch.

What the marker says

The local Baptist community built a church in 1882 approximately three miles east of Celina, just north of the present Crossroads Cemetery. The property, encompassing 1 1/2 acres, had been jointly owned by brothers Abiel D. and Edmond Stelzer. The resulting Crossroads Baptist Church was moved in 1902 to the new town of Celina to be near the St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway. The church's name was changed to First Baptist Church of Celina, and in 1930, a quitclaim deed was filed by the church for the Crossroads Cemetery. The earliest marked grave is that of an infant girl who died in 1875. Today, Crossroads Cemetery continues to serve residents of the area. Historic Texas Cemetery-2006