Bailey County Cemetery
Muleshoe vicinity, Bailey County, Texas
Marker Inscription
When Mariah "Aunt Rye" Long died in 1918, Emil and Anna Wellsandt offered a parcel of their land on this site for use as a public burial ground. Several others were buried in 1918, most of them victims of the influenza epidemic. The Bailey County Cemetery Association was formed that year. The cemetery served primarily the northern part of the county. The "Hill-Top" area of the cemetery was established in 1950 for the burial of indigents. Many early Bailey County settlers are interred in this cemetery, as are a number of war veterans. Neglect and vandalism spurred the defunct cemetery association to reorganize in 1996. The Bailey County Cemetery remains a chronicle of the area's pioneer settlers and their descendants. (1999)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Mariah 'Aunt Rye' Long died in 1918, Emil and Anna Wellsandt gave a parcel of their land for a public burying ground—and it filled quickly, many of the first graves belonging to victims of that year's influenza epidemic. A cemetery association formed at once, and a 'Hill-Top' section was later set aside for the county's indigent dead. After decades of neglect and vandalism the association reorganized in 1996 to preserve the resting place of Bailey County's pioneers and veterans.
Why it matters
Born in the deadly influenza pandemic of 1918, the cemetery preserves the memory of the settlers who opened the Texas Panhandle and the community that later fought to protect their graves.
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Related people
- · Mariah Long
- · Emil Wellsandt
- · Anna Wellsandt
Related events
- · 1918 influenza epidemic
Themes & tags
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