Miami Cemetery
Miami, Roberts County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The earliest cemetery in the town of Miami was established shortly after 1887 when the Southern Kansas branch of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad was extended through Miami. The earliest known burial is that of early pioneer William T. Lard who died on December 6, 1888 and was reinterred here prior to 1900, along with other burials that were relocated to the Old Cemetery section of the Miami Cemetery. The first marked burial in the Miami Cemetery is that of Sarah A. Black, daughter of G.M. & M.E. Black, who died on August 6, 1896 at the age of three months. In 1900, the Cresswell Ranche & Cattle Company, Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland, the operator of a large ranch in the eastern Texas Panhandle, sold Roberts County several acres of land to be used as a cemetery. Five acres were deeded to Judge S.G. Carter of Roberts County and his successors for a payment of $1.00. Subsequent parcels were added in 1919 by Cleve and Mattie Coffee and in 1948 by Walter and Irene Coffee. The landscape of the Miami Cemetery is traditional for the Texas Panhandle with vast, open areas bordered by a variety of vegetation, including cedar, Italian cypress, Chinese Elm, and rose bushes, surrounded by chain-link and wire fencing. The cemetery is the final resting place for twenty-six veterans of the Civil War, as well as veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Two Texas Rangers, Francis Lawton Hoffer (1862-1933) and Newton F. Locke (1882-1965), are also buried here. The cemetery continues to be active and is cared for by Roberts County commissioners and the citizens of Miami. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2009 SUPPLEMENTAL PLATE: Newton F. Locke (1853-1939) also served as Roberts County judge. Newton S. Locke (1882-1965) was his son.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The town of Miami took shape when the Santa Fe's Southern Kansas branch pushed through in 1887, and its cemetery followed close behind, with pioneer William T. Lard's reinterred grave among the earliest. In 1900 the Scottish-owned Cresswell Ranche & Cattle Company sold Roberts County several acres for a burying ground, deeded to Judge S.G. Carter for a single dollar. Shaded by cedar and cypress in the open Panhandle style, it holds Civil War veterans, soldiers of two world wars and Korea, and two Texas Rangers.
Why it matters
Born of the railroad and a foreign-owned cattle empire, the cemetery gathers ranchers, Rangers, and veterans into a single ground that mirrors the settlement of the Texas Panhandle.
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Related people
- · William T. Lard
- · Newton F. Locke
Themes & tags
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