Melrose Cemetery Marker, Melrose, FL

Melrose Cemetery Marker, Melrose, FL. This marker is located by Campbells Ln at Eliam Cemetery, in Melrose, Florida. The marker reads as : Formerly known as the Banana burying grounds, the Melrose non-denominational cemetery was established in 1860 by the Eliam Baptist Church, founded in 1859. The farming community of Banana consisted of small farms, a post office / general store and a gristmill owned by Dr. G.W. McRae (1829 - 1900), local physician and postmaster. The Baptists built their first church on the N.E. corner of the cemetery in 1860 and a second, larger church in 1883. In 1924 they relocated the church site to the town of Melrose where they built a third, larger church. Veterans of eight wars are interred here dating from the Mexican-American War (12846-1848) to the Vietnam War (1964-1973). The Civil War (1861-1865) account for six Union and 35 Confederate veterans graves. General of the Melrose area, fought in the Mexican - American War and the Civil War. In 1895 the church formed a Memorial Association to care for the cemetery property. The Melrose Cemetery Association and volunteers continue to maintain the grounds today. In 2007 a Veterans Memorial honoring veterans of all wars was erected on the site of the 1883 church at the front of the cemetery. Sponsored by the Eliam Baptist Church and the Florida Department of State 2009https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/4353/thumbnail.jp