The webpage of the Shelby County Museum is a treasure for those interested in the many cemeteries in Shelby County.  Many of the listed cemeteries include a list of those buried.  One of the largest cemeteries in Center is the Fairview Cemetery; the Fairview Cemetery had its beginning in 1900 when the Methodist Church Cemetery ( located behind the First Methodist Church on Porter St.) was becoming full of graves.  That cemetery was founded in 1866 and many of the town’s pioneers are buried there.

A deed for the first ten acres of Fairview Cemetery is recorded in Vol. 32, pgs 384 and 385 in Deed Records of Shelby County Texas.  These ten acres were given by A.R. Chander to John C. Rogers, John Sanders, B.J. Bridges, Tom McKnight, J.T. Willis and K.B. Downer, trustees of the Center Cemetery Association dated March 8, 1901. A.R. Chandler sold the trustees another ten acres in a deed dated November 1901.  The third tract of land for Fairview was three acres sold by N.O. Thomas and T.M. Campbell making the total of twenty-three acres in the present Fairview Cemetery.  The third tract was dated March 6, 1912, as shown on the deed recorded in Vol. 75, page 324 Deed Records of Shelby County.  Mrs. A.F. Ricks, whose maiden name was Kate Crisp, served on the committee to find the site for a cemetery which was to be a proper distance from town and on a hillside with proper drainage. She died soon after the cemetery was established, and became the first person to be buried in the new cemetery.  Her tombstone reads: Kate Crisp, wife of A.F. Ricks, November 24, 1857 – February 26, 1902.  Many of Center’s history makers in the town’s growth are buried in Fairview.   On May 28, 1936, the Fairview Cemetery Association, “a corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas with its office at Center, acting through J.M. Sanders its agent, “who was authorized to act for the association, conveyed the twenty-three acre tract of Fairview Cemetery to the city of Center.  The lots originally sold for about fifteen dollars for an eight space lot.     The history of Fairview and the many other cemeteries in Shelby County provide important information regarding those who built the various towns and communities and reflect the rich history of the county.   A way to recognize a historic cemetery is through the Texas Historic Commission.  The marker chairperson on the Shelby County Historic Commission is Laura Harris.  Mrs. Harris can provide guidance and assistance related to the marker process and has experience in securing markers for several cemeteries.   Note:  Information for this article came from a July 23, 1991 edition of the Light and Champion.