Nestled on a dead-end street between Magnolia and Todd Mission, Sanders Cemetery is home to the Montgomery County Historical Commission’s first historical marker in Magnolia. The site received its marker in November after years of research, said Sharon Russell, historic marker chairwoman for the commission.

“Sanders was our very first cemetery,” said Russell, noting the county began issuing markers around 2013. “The names in the cemetery—they’re all old Magnolia families.”

Named for the Sanders family, Sanders Cemetery is located on a portion of Julius Sanders’ 59-acre tract purchased in 1875 on FM 1774 north of Magnolia West High School, Russell said.

“Julius Sanders was a fascinating person,” she said.

Sanders was born in Jones County, Georgia, in 1836 and served in the Civil War before coming to Texas in 1872 with his wife, Sarah Tarvah. The couple had three children during their journey from Georgia to Texas, Russell said.

The family came to Texas by boat, entering at Galveston and later traveling up to Old Danville, located near present-day Willis. There, Sanders and his wife raised seven more children, Russell said. Sanders then served as a circuit preacher, a minister appointed to care for congregations within an area.

“He traveled all over Montgomery County, preaching the gospel. Then he settled kind of in Magnolia,” she said. “He was one of the first Methodist ministers in the Magnolia area, and he helped to build the first Methodist church in Magnolia.”

Russell said the first person was buried in the family cemetery in 1895 before Sanders’ death in 1927. However, the cemetery is still in use.

“All of his buddies, all of his friends—all the people out here—they started getting buried there,” she said.

Additionally, after wildfires tore through the Greater Magnolia area in 2011, Sanders Cemetery was used by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to study the effects of fire retardant on old gravestones, Russell said.

After completing the two-year study, she said drafting students at Magnolia West High School helped inventory the gravestones for the marker application.

“We inventoried every grave,” Russell said. “Our goal is to preserve our history.”