Crosbyton Cemetery
Crosbyton, Crosby County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established in 1909, this cemetery was once part of a 90,000-acre ranch operated by the C. B. Livestock Company. Julian Bassett, part owner of the company and donor of the Crosbyton townsite, also gave the land for this burial ground when James Boggs, a cowboy on the ranch, was ill and was thought to be dying. The first burial was that of 18-month-old Willie Oliver. Others interred here include Julian Bassett and many other early settlers who were influential in the development of the area. The Crosbyton Cemetery is a reminder of the region's pioneer heritage. 1984
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in 1909, this cemetery was carved from a 90,000-acre spread run by the C. B. Livestock Company on the Texas South Plains. Part-owner Julian Bassett, who also donated the Crosbyton townsite, gave the land when a ranch cowboy named James Boggs was thought to be dying—though the first actual burial was that of 18-month-old Willie Oliver. Bassett and many other early settlers now rest among the graves.
Why it matters
The cemetery ties the settlement of the West Texas plains to the great cattle ranches whose owners often laid out the towns and buried the pioneers who followed.
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Related people
- · Julian Bassett
- · James Boggs
- · Willie Oliver
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Julian M. Bassett
Crosbyton, TX
In the early 1900s the flat, treeless expanse of the Texas South Plains was being carved into ranches and townsites as promoters raced to attract buyers and rail connections. Julian M. Bassett, a New York-born son of Texas migrants, helped run the C. B. Livestock Company and, to spur land sales, had the townsite of Crosbyton platted in 1907. His backing of the Crosbyton South Plains Rail Line helped the young town win the county seat in 1911, and he set aside this ground as a public cemetery.
Lamar Family
Crosbyton, TX
In 1892 young William Percy Lamar came with his parents from Tarrant County to a 160-acre homestead in Crosby County, and after marrying Sarah Elzina Henson in 1912 the couple prospered through farming, dairying, stock raising, and business. In 1957 Elzina established the Percy and Zina Lamar Foundation, whose gifts built and sustained the county's pioneer museum and community center along with a Masonic hall and Methodist charities. The marker stands as a tribute to the family and to all West Texas pioneers.
J. J. Pierce
Crosbyton, TX
Born at Blum, Texas, J.J. Pierce became sheriff of Crosby County in January 1947 and was killed later that year in the line of duty while arresting a bootlegger at Ralls. A father of eight, he was remembered as a man of quiet courage and fearless character, and his marker was recorded in 1967.
Crosby County
Crosbyton, TX
Crosby County was created in 1876 from the Young and Bexar territories and organized a decade later in 1886, taking its name from Stephen Crosby, a Commissioner of the General Land Office who came to Texas in 1845. Its county seat migrated across the plains from Estacado in 1886 to Emma in 1890 before settling in Crosbyton in 1911. The shifting seat traces the slow settlement of the West Texas high plains.