Jericho Cemetery
Clarendon vicinity, Donley County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1 mile west) Settlement of this area of Donley County began in the late 19th century, before the town of Jericho was founded as a station on the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf rail line about 1902. Early community burials took place in the pasture near this site, and the graveyard eventually was set aside in the county deed records. The first documented burial is that of Mattie Ray (1850-1895), and the second is that of seven-month-old Garil Prest Schaffer, who died in 1897. Others buried in the Jericho Cemetery include victims of smallpox and influenza epidemics, military veterans and area pioneers. (2001)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settlement of this stretch of Donley County began in the late 1800s, before the town of Jericho rose as a station on the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf line around 1902. Early burials took place in the open pasture, and the ground was eventually set aside in county deed records. Among those laid to rest here are Mattie Ray, the first documented burial in 1895, an infant who died in 1897, and later victims of smallpox and influenza epidemics alongside veterans and pioneers.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the human record of a Panhandle railroad community, where epidemics and hard frontier life left their mark on the earliest settlers.
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Related people
- · Mattie Ray
Themes & tags
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