McCrury Cemetery
Bogata, Red River County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Wilson, John, and Sam McCrury and their two sisters arrived in this area from Missouri in 1835. A private family burial ground was begun on the land of John McCrury upon his death in 1864. Although there are probably earlier burials here, his is the oldest documented grave. The cemetery became a community graveyard for the people of the McCrury area of Red River County. Many pioneer families are represented here. Officially designated as a cemetery in county deed records in 1953, the graveyard is maintained by the McCrury Cemetery Association.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the three McCrury brothers and their two sisters came down from Missouri in 1835, they were joining the thin scatter of Anglo settlers pushing into what was still Mexican Texas. The private burying ground on John McCrury's land opened with his own death in 1864 and slowly grew into the community graveyard for the surrounding McCrury area, gathering the pioneer families of Red River County. Formally recorded as a cemetery in 1953, it is still tended by a local association.
Why it matters
Rural family cemeteries like this one are the quiet ledgers of American westward settlement, marking where migrant families put down roots and how a scattered frontier neighborhood became a lasting community.
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Related people
- · John McCrury
- · Wilson McCrury
- · Sam McCrury
Themes & tags
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