In the mid-1850s, several settlers from Gaston County, North Carolina, arrived in this area, including the John and Margaret (Morris) Beaty, Benjamin and Sarah (Rankin) Morris, and Spencer and Catherine (Morris) Shelton families. Spencer Shelton bought land here in 1856 and established a family cemetery in 1862, when two sons, Benjamin (age 18) and Bud (age 2), died of measles. The cemetery and surrounding land was sold to James Rankin and William Cloninger in 1872, remaining in the Rankin family until 1950. Descendants organized a Shelton-Rankin Cemetery Association in 1977. Gravestones commemorate military veterans, Woodmen of the World members, and dozens of area pioneers and residents. Historic Texas cemetery – 2007