From Interstate US Hwy -75 take the Melissa Rd exit. Go East on Melissa Road for approximately .5 miles. Cemetery will be on your left.
NOTE: The St. Paul Cemetery is adjacent to the Melissa Cemetery.
It is easy to be confused because the two cemeteries are separated only by a small creek and there is no sign to designate the St. Paul Cemetery, however, it is not a part of the Melissa Cemetery and is deeded to the St. Paul Baptist Church in Melissa, Texas.

Historical Marker:
This cemetery has been the primary burial ground for
members of the Melissa Community for generations. Its origin can be traced to
the Pioneer Sherley/ Shirley Family. Although the specific date of its
founding is unknown. The oldest graves in the cemetery are those of William
M. Sherley (1856), Lewis Sherley (1867), and Albert Shirley (1879). They may
have originally been buried in a family cemetery on the nearby farm of Lewis
Sherley and relocated to this site when the Melissa Cemetery was formally
established in 1889. Also buried in the Sherley Family Cemetery were a number
of family slaves, and that site became the nearby St. Paul Cemetery. A number
of Melissa residents were interred here prior to the offical designation of
the cemetery as a public burial ground in 1889. According to local tradition
a railroad worker who died in 1872 is buried here in an unmarked grave. Many
pioneer residents of Melissa are interred in this cemetery, including
Confederate Captain Thomas M. Scott and veterans of the Mexican War, Civil
War, World War I, and World War II. The Melissa Cemetery Association cares
for the historic graveyard.

The City of Melissa is located 6 miles north of McKinney, the county seat of Collin County. It can be reached by driving north from McKinney on State Hwy 5 or US Hwy 75. Melissa Cemetery is located on Melissa Road approximately 1.5 miles west of Melissa between State Hwy 5 and US Hwy 75.
Melissa Cemetery is both a recognized State of Texas Historical Cemetery and a recognized Historic Texas Cemetery which contains approximately 1146 marked graves and an unknown number of unmarked and lost graves. To date, there are 88 veterans buried in Melissa Cemetery documenting The Mexican American War, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Iraq War. There are also stones recognizing 14 Masonic Members, 3 Eastern Star Members and 11 Woodsmen of the World.
The oldest graves in the cemetery are those of William M. Sherley (1856) and Lewis Sherley (1867) who may have been originally buried in a family cemetery on the nearby farm of Lewis Sherley,(which later became the St. Paul Cemetery) and relocated west of Shirley creek to this site when the Melissa Cemetery was formerly established in 1889.
Many of Melissa's first residents came from the Highland Community approximately 2 miles north of the present day Melissa which virtually vanished around 1872 with the coming of the Houston and Texas Central (H&TC) railroad through Collin County. Some of the cemeteries that served Melissa prior to the 1889 formation of Melissa Cemetery were Highland, Orenduff, Stony Point, Throckmorton, St. Paul and numerous small family cemeteries.
The Melissa Cemetery is an active cemetery and is cared for by the Melissa Cemetery Association. Family histories, historical documentation or copies of family deeds may be sent to the Melissa Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 222, Melissa, TX 75454.