The pioneer town of Dresden was originally named for its founder, Ethan Melton (1793-1873), who settled here in 1841. The first post office in Navarro County was established in Melton in 1846. The original three-acre portion of this cemetery, probably opened for burials in the 1840s, was donated to the community by Ethan Melton by 1850. In 1852 the growing settlement, also called "Richland" or "Spanky," was renamed "Dresden" by Jacob Hartzell (1790-1881), who operated an Indian trading post, and Dr. W. S. Robinson (1823-87), the town's first doctor. Many of the early graves in Dresden Cemetery are unmarked or marked with plain stones from nearby Post Oak Creek. Among the oldest marked graves are those of Barnett Hollingsworth (1801-74), one of the 48 Civil War veterans buried here, and the Rev. James Johnson (1803-77), a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. Dresden Methodist Church, serving as a community church, has occupied a site adjacent to the cemetery since the 1850s. Care for the burial ground is provided by the Dresden Cemetery Association, whose members have met annually since its founding in 1877. The plot now (1976) covers 17.09 acres with over 2,000 graves. The pioneer village has vanished, but Dresden Cemetery is still used by descendants of the first settlers.