Sadler Cemetery

This land was already in use as a burial ground known as Bethlehem Cemetery when it was officially dedicated in county records in 1884. Bethlehem Church, the source of the original name, was originally across the road before the congregation disbanded. In 1884, S. M. and Maggie Lester conveyed nearly four acres to trustees R. L. Belsher, H. C. Hall, and B. S. Hackleman. The Sadler Cemetery Association was formed and the burial ground was renamed Sadler Cemetery. The cemetery was recorded in deeds “to be used by the public as a public cemetery, and for no other purposes, whatsoever.” The cemetery expanded through land conveyed by R. G. and Gertrude Mood in 1917 and by Almedia Flannery in 1955 and 1966.

J. J. Sadler (1836-1923) moved here in 1870 and donated land for his namesake town; he is the only known Civil War veteran in Sadler Cemetery. A total of thirty-seven veterans have been identified, including veterans of both World Wars, the Merchant Marines, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Three known Grayson County commissioners are also among the approximately one thousand burials. Funerary materials include granite, limestone, marble, concrete and wooden grave markers; obelisks, masonic and Woodmen of the World markers are noteworthy. The Sadler Cemetery provides an invaluable record of pioneer area families, as well as beloved teachers, preachers and business and civic leaders. Still in use, the cemetery reflects the continuum of the area’s history, with clearly discernible pioneer and modern sections which help educate about the names, events and heritage of the past.