Enoch P. Chisholm, a circuit-riding Methodist minister, brought his family to this area in the 1860s, and the community that grew up here was named in his honor. He donated land for this graveyard in 1871, and in 1875 he became the first person interred in it. A chapel, also named for Chisholm, was built that same year on the cemetery grounds. At its peak, the town of Chisholm had a school, post office, Masonic lodge, cotton gin, and stores. Many early pioneers were buried in Chisholm Cemetery, and some of their descendants still live in the area.