Gail Cemetery
Gail, Borden County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Borden County, created in 1876, was organized in 1891, the same year the town of Gail was established as county seat. The next year, J.I. and L.E. Wilborn gave land for the courthouse sqaure and three churches, and dedicated Block 18 of the townsite for a burial ground. The cemetery had been used as early as March 1891 for the burial of Fetnah Alexander. At least nine unmarked graves exist, some of which may be earlier. In January 1901, J.I. Wilborn officially deeded the tract to trustees for the county-operated cemetery. Buried here are many county officials, including Sid Reeder and his wife, Iva, who both served as county sheriff. Others interred here include veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War, three of the original cemetery trustees, and John Henry Smoot, a stonemason who built the foundation and vault for the courthouse, and carved many of the cemetery's early grave markers. The Borden County Cemetery Association and commissioners court maintain the burial ground, and family members and others donate time and funds to preserve this tie to their local and family history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003 SUPPLEMENTAL PLATE: John Ira Wilbourn (1848 - 1932) Louvina Beck Wilbourn (1859 - 1924)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Borden County was organized in 1891 and the town of Gail rose as its county seat, landowners J.I. and L.E. Wilborn set aside part of the townsite for a burial ground — already in use that March for the grave of Fetnah Alexander. The cemetery gathered county sheriffs, cemetery trustees, and veterans of conflicts reaching back to the Civil War, along with John Henry Smoot, the stonemason who built the courthouse foundation and carved many of the earliest headstones. A cemetery association and the county still tend the prairie graves as a link to the area's founding families.
Why it matters
Gail Cemetery preserves the memory of the ranchers, officials, and craftsmen who organized one of West Texas's frontier counties from open range into settled community.
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Related people
- · J.I. Wilborn
- · John Henry Smoot
- · Sid Reeder
Themes & tags
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