Early settler James W. Stallings donated the first portion of land at this site in 1880 for a cemetery for area residents. Two years later, the town of Bowie was platted near the cemetery along the route of the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. The first burial at Elmwood Cemetery was Willie B. Nelson, who died June 10, 1880, the son of Francis M. and Mary Nelson. Stallings later buried several of his own family members there, including his wife Sarah E. (Parker), his granddaughter, and his daughter, all in 1882. In 1884, 1901, and 1905, G.W. and Emily Tinkle conveyed additional land to the cemetery, and further additions were made in later years. The Bowie Cemetery Association formed during the cemetery's early years, though the exact date is unknown, and it managed cemetery business until 1938, when it officially deeded the burial ground to the city of Bowie. In 1981, expansion of Lake Amon G. Carter led to the relocation to Elmwood of graves from Tarter Cemetery. Portions of a native stone wall constructed along Patterson and Nelson Streets by employees of the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1937 remain. The cemetery contains burials of veterans from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and it continues to serve Bowie and the surrounding area while recalling the community's early pioneer settlers.