Ovilla, Ellis County
The Ovilla community was founded by members of the Peters Colony in 1844. Benjamin and Erixna Caroline McFarlin were among the early members of the thriving farm community. On November 17, 1886, they deeded four acres to the new Ovilla Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for a church building and a burial ground. Though there may have been earlier burials, the earliest marked grave is that of Rebecca Summers McElroy, the wife of Tom C. McElroy, who died in 1884. Among the more than 440 people buried here are early settlers, at least seven veterans of the Civil War, and veterans of World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Ovilla Cemetery remains a chronicle of the pioneers of Ovilla community. (2000)