Moore Cemetery
Moore, Frio County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First public burial ground in community. Before its founding people were buried in private plots, church cemeteries, or in public graveyards outside this precinct. In 1896 Moses Veith deeded five acres of land for use as a community cemetery. Interred here are pioneers and men who fought in Indian battles, World Wars I and II, and other major conflicts. Moore was named for early Texas R. B. "Mustang" Moore, who lived on a small creek near here. In 1861 he was killed by Comanches. The town was first named Moore Hollow. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established on land deeded by Moses Veith in 1896, Moore Cemetery was the community's first public burial ground, replacing the scattered private plots and church graveyards of earlier years. Among those interred are pioneers and men who fought in frontier Indian conflicts and both World Wars. The town itself was named for R. B. "Mustang" Moore, an early Texan killed by Comanches in 1861, and was first known as Moore Hollow.
Why it matters
The cemetery and the town's very name preserve the memory of frontier South Texas, where settlers and the Comanche fought over the land that would become farming country.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
South Texas between San Antonio and the Rio Grande was a contested frontier for most of the nineteenth century. The brush country and creek bottoms of what became Frio County lay within reach of Comanche raiders, whose power on the southern plains made them one of the most formidable forces in the region. Settlers who moved to these creeks took real risks.
The year 1861 was an especially dangerous one on the Texas frontier. With the start of the Civil War, federal troops who had manned the frontier posts withdrew, and Texas had to rely on its own limited forces. Raids and clashes happened across the frontier counties, and scattered settlers in isolated places were most exposed.
By the 1890s the region had changed a great deal. The Comanche had been forced onto reservations in the 1870s, and the old frontier was giving way to ranching and farming communities. Towns had grown to the point where they needed shared institutions such as schools, churches and a proper community burial ground. Moore Cemetery grew out of that settling-down.
People & events
The town takes its name from R. B. "Mustang" Moore, an early Texan who lived on a small creek near here. His nickname hints at the frontier life of the time, when wild horses roamed the open country of South Texas. In 1861 Moore was killed by Comanches, and his name stayed with the place. The settlement was first called Moore Hollow and later simply Moore.
For decades after that, the community had no public cemetery. Families buried their dead in private plots on their own land, in church cemeteries, or in public graveyards in other precincts. Such a scattered pattern of burial was typical of thinly settled areas.
That changed in 1896, when Moses Veith deeded five acres for a community cemetery. It was an act of generosity toward his neighbors, and it gave Moore a shared place to remember its dead. Over the years pioneer families were buried here. So were men who had fought in the frontier Indian conflicts, in the two World Wars and in other major American conflicts.
Its place in the American story
Moore Cemetery holds the whole history of the American frontier in one small plot of ground. The town's name marks the violent early years, when settlers and the Comanche fought over the land. Graves from later generations show a community gradually becoming part of the country's wider life and sending its sons to wars on the other side of the world.
The town is named for a man killed in the fighting over this land. That fact is a reminder that the settling of the West was a real conflict with real losses on more than one side. The Comanche were defending lands and a way of life that settlement was taking from them, and any fair account of the frontier has to keep both sides in view.
The cemetery's founding reflects something that happened in thousands of American towns. At some point a community decides it needs a common burial ground for everyone. That decision, often made possible by one landowner's gift, marks the move from a scattered frontier population to a lasting town.
If you visit
Moore is a small community in Frio County, south of San Antonio, in the brush country of South Texas. It's an easy stop if you're traveling that way. When you visit the cemetery, look at the range of dates and names on the stones. Together they tell the story of families who stayed here and built the community across generations.
Keep an eye out for veterans' markers. The cemetery holds men who served from the frontier era through the World Wars and later, so a walk among the graves covers more than a century of American military service. Families visiting with children may find it a good place to talk about how a town grows and changes over time.
Please treat the grounds with the respect due any active burial place: stay on paths, don't disturb stones or decorations, and be mindful of mourners who may be there. South Texas summers are hot, so bring water and a hat and plan your visit for a cooler part of the day.
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
- · Moses Veith
- · R. B. "Mustang" Moore
Themes & tags
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