Bristol Cemetery began in 1879 with a small plot of land donated by Mr. James Burk to serve the community pioneers. The grounds had no organized upkeep until 1912, when a group called the Bristol Cemetery Ladies began financing maintenance by donating food and serving it to the public each Thanksgiving Day, a custom that continues each year. In the 1950's, a State of Texas charter established the Bristol Cemetery Association, and since then the grounds have been expanded to include three adjoining tracts of land. In 1973, Joe B. Sims made a gift in trust to assist in perpetual care and to commemorate his parents, W.D. Sims and Elizabeth Ellen Sims, early-day settlers and longtime residents of the community. Seven hundred thirty six known dead are buried there, including about twenty veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.