PHILLIPSCemetery

Early settlers Nancy and John Phillips deeded the first land at this site to the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1880. A small church was built and was dedicated on March 13, 1880. As was customary, members of the community were buried near the church. The earliest documented burial is that of B. G. Sorrell, who died on March 13, 1880. Among the graves are those of numerous early settlers to the Dripping Springs area and sixteen Civil War veterans.

In 1901 land for a new church building was acquired on the Old San Marcos Road (now RR 12). The original church building was sold and moved, leaving the site to be used solely for the Methodist cemetery. Families cared for individual graves, while members of the community maintained the cemetery.

In the early 1920s the local blacksmith, Williams S. Garnett, ordered caskets and assisted with funeral arrangements. The Methodist Church donated the cemetery property to the community in 1940 and in 1962, a cemetery association was form and chartered in 1968, to maintain the now historic graveyard. Over the years, several other families have donated additional property bringing the total to about 3.5 acres. In 1991, the Texas Historical Commission declared Phillips Cemetery as a state historic site and erected a plaque near the main entrance.

A columbarium was added to the grounds in 2011, as a final resting place and for the benefit of families interring cremains. It is in the southwest corner near the gazebo.

Today the Phillips Cemetery is governed by a volunteer board of directors of the Phillips Cemetery Association, a non-profit organization. Since the 1960s, the Association has
maintained the wishes of the original charter, set up to serve the greater Dripping Springs area with a community cemetery. Board directors meet on a quarterly basis. An annual meeting is held at the cemetery on the last Saturday of April at 10:00am. All association members and the public are welcome to attend the annual meeting.
By-laws for the association are on this website under the Association and By-laws tab. By-laws are reviewed by the board of directors as needed and voted on at the annual meeting. Follow the link to find out more: Phillips Cemetery

Phillips is not a perpetual care cemetery, and the organization relies on voluntary donations, assignment fees, adherence to the by-laws and respect for all loved ones’ spaces.