Bovina Cemetery
Bovina, Parmer County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Prior to the founding of the city of Bovina, the XIT Ranch located its southern headquarters in this vicinity. The Pecos and Northern Texas Railway built through the ranch in 1898, and the settlement became known as Bull Town because of cattle frequently found on the tracks. A community developed around the railhead, and in January 1899 the official post office name became Bovina. Due to a boom in cattle shipping, the town's population began to grow after the turn of the 20th century. Since then, the city has owned this cemetery, which was maintained for a time by the Bovina Cemetery Association. The XIT Ranch initially used this site for burials of cowboys. Oral tradition holds that several gravemarkers initially bore only common names of the cowboys, such as Dusty and Big Jim. It is believed there were approximately 40 such graves, but all are now unmarked. The earliest marked grave is that of J.W. McDonald (d. 1907). Bovina Cemetery is the final resting place of veterans of military conflicts dating to World War I, as well as generations of area residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Before the town of Bovina existed, the sprawling XIT Ranch ran its southern headquarters near here, and when the railway arrived in 1898 a settlement grew up around the railhead — first nicknamed "Bull Town" for the cattle wandering the tracks. The XIT first used this ground to bury its cowboys, some marked only with names like "Dusty" and "Big Jim," now lost; the earliest surviving marker dates to 1907. A Historic Texas Cemetery, it holds generations of residents and veterans reaching back to World War I.
Why it matters
From anonymous cowboy graves to a community burial ground, the cemetery tells the story of the great cattle ranches that gave way to the settled towns of the Texas Panhandle.
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Related people
- · J.W. McDonald
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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