McKinney, Collin County, Texas

Cemeteries of Texas Coordinator: Dolores I. Bishop

Information provided by the State of Texas Atlas Site Location: 1.5 Miles E of McKinney on US 380, 8 miles N on FM 1827, then S on CR 465, then E on CR 912 to cemetery Marker : This cemetery has served the Altoga area since 1881, including what was once the Johnson community to the south and the Ardath community to the west. The earliest recorded burials are those of three-year-old Ida Leomy Parker in July 1881 and Elizabeth Humbard Mantooth in November 1881. William Mantooth donated one and one-third acres of land for the cemetery in 1894. Another two and one-third acres were later added to the site. A tabernacle to be used for funerals was erected in August 1914. It was built by local men with funds raised by the Woodmen of the World with events such as ice cream socials and pie suppers. The tabernacle is still used each May for observance of Decoration Day. The cemetery contains more than 720 graves, including about 40 unmarked graves. Buried here are early settlers to the area, their families, and veterans of the Civil War (both Confederate and Union soldiers), World War I, World War II, and the Korean conflict. The Altoga Cemetery Association, formed in 1971, maintains the grounds through a perpetual care trust. The graveyard continues to serve the area as it has for more than a century. (1997)