In 1888, three local men bought land for use as a cemetery, and the first burial was that of Houston Roberts. The Odd Fellows Lodge bought the grounds in 1894 and added land over the years. Watson Whittaker was killed during an 1898 train robbery and made headlines when a funeral train brought him to Mills County for burial there. In 1943, the lodge sold the cemetery to the city, and it became Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery. Local groups made improvements and placed memorials honoring the sacrifice of area veterans buried there. Today, the cemetery provides a link to area history.