Englewood Cemetery
Slaton, Lubbock County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Representing the Santa Fe Railroad, W.B. Storey, Jr. bought the future townsite of Slaton on April 15, 1911. The railroad's plans included a roundhouse, switch lines, depot and Harvey House, making Slaton a center for area rail transport. Rail employees and others quickly populated the city, which incorporated in October 1912. By that time, residents had established this cemetery with the burial of infant J.W. Ohrion earlier in the year. Among the thousands of graves here are several unmarked burials in a potter's field and veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Representing the Santa Fe Railroad, W.B. Storey, Jr. bought the future townsite of Slaton on April 15, 1911, with plans for a roundhouse, switch lines, depot, and Harvey House that would make it a hub of West Texas rail traffic. Rail workers and settlers filled the town so quickly that it incorporated in 1912, the same year residents opened this cemetery with the burial of an infant. Among its thousands of graves are unmarked burials in a potter's field and veterans of wars dating to the Civil War.
Why it matters
Englewood Cemetery reflects how the Santa Fe Railroad conjured a whole town — and its resting place — out of the open plains in a single year, a pattern that built much of West Texas.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the early 1900s, the South Plains of West Texas were among the last parts of the state to be broadly settled. Ranching had dominated the wide, flat grasslands, but farming families were moving in. What the region needed above all was a railroad, because without rail lines, crops and cattle couldn't easily reach market.
Railroads didn't just serve towns in this era. They often created them. Companies picked sites for division points, built shops and depots, laid out streets, and sold lots, sometimes turning empty prairie into a working town within months. The Santa Fe Railroad was one of the great town-builders of the Southwest.
Slaton was born out of that process, at a time when the South Plains were changing quickly from open range to farms, rail lines, and new communities.
People & events
On April 15, 1911, W.B. Storey, Jr., acting for the Santa Fe Railroad, bought the land that would become the townsite of Slaton. The railroad had big plans: a roundhouse to service locomotives, switch lines, a depot, and a Harvey House to feed travelers. Those facilities would make Slaton a key point for rail traffic across the region.
The people came quickly. Railroad workers and their families, along with merchants and others drawn by the new jobs and trade, filled the young town. By October 1912, Slaton had incorporated as a city.
By then the community already had this cemetery. Its first burial, earlier in 1912, was an infant, J.W. Ohrion. It is a poignant start that says a lot about frontier life, where infant deaths were heartbreakingly common. In the years since, thousands of people have been buried here. Among them are several unmarked graves in a potter's field, the section set aside for those who were poor or unknown, and veterans of conflicts dating back to the Civil War. The cemetery was recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2004.
Its place in the American story
Slaton is a textbook example of how railroads shaped the American West. Across the plains, rail companies decided where towns would rise, how they'd be laid out, and what work their people would do. Many West Texas communities trace their existence to a railroad's decision to put a depot or shops in one spot rather than another.
The Harvey House is part of a broader national story. The Fred Harvey Company's restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe line became famous for reliable meals and service in remote places, and the Harvey Girls who worked in them became a memorable part of Western lore. Their presence in Slaton tied this small plains town to a network stretching across the Southwest.
The cemetery holds the human side of that story: railroad families, settlers, the poor in the potter's field, and veterans who served the nation. Its graves record the lives of the people who actually built and kept a railroad town going.
If you visit
Englewood Cemetery is a place for quiet reflection. As you walk, look for the older graves from the town's earliest years and think about how young the community was when they were placed. Take a moment at the potter's field too. Its unmarked burials are a reminder that many who helped build West Texas left little trace beyond this ground.
Watch for veterans' markers and flags, which often stand out among the rows. Please be respectful, since this is an active community cemetery.
Slaton is a short drive from Lubbock, and its railroad heritage is still visible around town, including the Harvey House building. Combine a stop here with a look at the town's rail history for a good sense of how the Santa Fe conjured a whole community out of the South Plains.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · W.B. Storey, Jr.
Themes & tags
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