Members of the pioneer Roland family, natives of Alabama, settled here in the 1830s on land that was part of a Republic of Texas grant awarded to family members in recognition of the military service of John Roland, who was killed during the Texas Revolution. The property was received by his mother, Martha Roland Arrington, and his brothers Sherrod and Ezekial Roland. Ezekial, a veteran of the Texas Revolution, and his wife Mahala Pace set aside part of the grant for a public cemetery, and the first burial was that of the donor, Ezekial Roland, in 1859. Elm Grove Cemetery also served the earliest residents of the Seven Points community, later known as Westminster. Established in the 1860s, the town was the site of Westminster College, an early Methodist school that operated until the early 1900s, and later a Baptist Academy. Still in use, Elm Grove Cemetery contains over 1500 known graves and 250 unidentified gravesites and for over 100 years has served as the burial site of pioneers, community leaders, and residents of the surrounding rural area.