Edward C. Mills and his family were among the first settlers in eastern Dallas County, arriving in 1847, to claim a Peters Colony 640-acre headright on Rowlett’s Creek. Mills Cemetery was established in October 1854 with the burial of Edward’s second wife, Elizabeth Collins Mills. Originally a 1.6-acre burial ground for the Mills family, the cemetery has been enlarged over the years by the annexation of at least three tracts of adjoining land. The cemetery contains the graves of Peters Colonists Edward and sons James and John Mills, as well as early generations of the Mills family and war veterans, but also serves the Rowlett and Garland communities.