Mesquite Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Mesquite Cemetery, and there's more to this ground than meets the eye. Now, before we get into it, let's set one thing straight right up front: this burial ground was here before the city of Mesquite even existed. The Texas and Pacific Railroad came through and established the city in 1873, but folks were already laying their loved ones to rest on this land well before that train ever arrived.

The earliest marked grave belongs to a little girl named Britanna Santifee Chapman, who lived from 1856 to 1859, three short years on this earth. She shares her plot with pioneer residents Davis G. Chapman, born in 1824, gone in 1881, and his wife Nancy C.

Chapman, born in 1828, who lived all the way to 1912. Three people, three very different spans of life, all anchored to the same piece of ground. Then comes 1890, and a man named Louis C.

Ebrite steps onto the scene. A local builder and civic leader, Ebrite was born in 1852 and, I'll just say it, he had a long time to admire his own handiwork, because he lived until 1943. What he did in 1890 was take a tract of several acres and plot it out in a grid pattern, with driveways carving through it in a design that defines the layout of that cemetery to this very day.

The man drew the blueprint, and it stuck. Two years later, in 1892, the site was formally deeded for cemetery use. And it hasn't stopped since, still honoring area veterans, still chronicling the generations that belong to Mesquite's proud heritage.

Some ground gets broken for a city. This ground was already keepin' watch.

What the marker says

This burial ground was in use well before the Texas and Pacific railroad established the city of Mesquite in 1873. The earliest marked grave is that of Britanna Santifee Chapman (1856-1859), who shares a plot with pioneer residents Davis G. Chapman (1824-1881) and wife, Nancy C. (1828-1912). In 1890, local builder and civic leader Louis C. Ebrite (1852-1943) plotted a tract of several acres in a grid pattern with driveways that define the layout of the cemetery to this day. The site was formally deeded for cemetery use in 1892 and continues to honor area veterans and to chronicle the generations that belong to Mesquite's proud heritage. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2001