The City of Irving Transportation Dept. placed a permanent historical marker honoring Shelton’s Bear Creek Cemetery. The cemetery was overrun with weeds and brush until recent efforts to shine a spotlight on this important historic site.
The Shelton’s Bear Creek Cemetery is located at Hardrock Road and Conflans. Â
According to the City of Irving’s website:
“Settlers began arriving in this area of western Dallas County in the 1850s. Early families included the Casters, Borahs, Sowers and Haleys. Following the Civil War, freedmen moved to the area, and friends and families once separated by slavery were reconnected. Jim Green, the first African-American landowner in what became known as the Bear Creek community, bought his acreage in 1878. Others soon followed: Jim Chivers, Ben and Rose Dilworth, Alex King, Elizabeth Lawson, Collins and Rachel Patton. D. W. Ellison (Ellerson), Sam Sweat, the Trigg family and Minnie Sheldon (Shelton), who later donated land for Shelton’s Bear Creek Cemetery.”
