Zion Cemetery

FM 423 approximately 1 mile north of Eldorado Parkway

In the mid 1800s, the promise of free land brought a group of mostly Kentucky settlers to this particular area and it became known as Hawkins Settlement or sometimes known as the Zion community. These Methodist families such as the Hawkins, Button, and Bates set their roots down on this land. The Zion Cemetery was established on land owned by the Hawkins family. The oldest grave is that of an infant in 1856. It seemed that many neighbors began to use the cemetery for their children who had difficult times surviving the harsh conditions. As years passed, in 1860 older family members were buried a top the expansive hill that overlooked the county. Legend claims there are slaves buried in a special section of the cemetery with no markers. Sorrowfully, it doesn’t appear that remaining descendants recall where that area of the cemetery was located.

In later years, Annie Young Hughey made a donation for the upkeep of the plots and the Mary Button Young Memorial Chapel building that was located at the top of the hill in the cemetery. Mrs. Hughey named it for her mother, but by 1990, the building was no longer standing. As of 2009 there were approximately 259 burials there. Springtime visitors get a spectacular treat as the Zion Cemetery hill is usually covered with Texas bluebonnets.

Management of Zion Cemetery is by the Zion Cemetery Association, Benny Noles, 13885 Noles Road, Aubrey, Texas 76227.