Ochiltree Cemetery
Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1902, Jim McLarty and J. V. Stump fenced off 90 acres for a cemetery in the town of Ochiltree. Soon afterwards, Jim was thrown from his horse and killed, and at age 21 became the first person buried in the cemetery. In 1927 the county acquired the deed from Mr. J. M. Blasingame; in 1930 a cemetery association was formed. During the Depression of the 1930s an entry gate was built with help from the Works Progress Administration. Veterans of the Civil War and Spanish American wars, as well as World Wars I and II and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, are among the citizens buried here. (1997)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Jim McLarty and J. V. Stump fenced ninety acres for a cemetery in the town of Ochiltree in 1902, McLarty himself became its first occupant, killed at twenty-one in a fall from his horse. The county took the deed in 1927 and an association formed in 1930, and during the Depression the Works Progress Administration built its entry gate. Its graves hold veterans of every American war from the Civil War through Vietnam.
Why it matters
A single Panhandle cemetery here records both the hazards of frontier life and the reach of national history, from Depression-era public works to a century of military service.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Jim McLarty
- · J. V. Stump
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Battle of Adobe Walls
Stinnett, TX
On November 25, 1864, Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson led a column of U.S. troops against a large force of Kiowa and Comanche near the ruins of an old trading post known as Adobe Walls. Sheltering behind the crumbling walls, Carson's men fought a hard engagement before withdrawing from the far more numerous warriors. It proved to be the famed frontiersman's last battle.
Gen. Nelson Miles Expedition (Headquarters Dugout)
Canadian, TX
In the winter of 1874–75, the U.S. Army swept the Texas Panhandle in the campaign now known as the Red River War, and General Nelson Miles ran part of it from a dugout post near here. His columns fought eight engagements that season and, in November 1874, recovered two of the captive German sisters, Addie and Julia, with their older sisters freed the following February. From this rough headquarters Miles nominated soldiers for the Medal of Honor, among them the celebrated scout Billy Dixon, before Fort Elliott rose in 1875 to carry on the work.
Fifteen miles to the Site of the Battle of Adobe Walls
Borger, TX
Fifteen miles from this marker lies the site of the first Battle of Adobe Walls, fought on November 25, 1864, when Kiowa and Comanche warriors met U.S. troops led by Colonel Christopher 'Kit' Carson. Carson attacked the villages but, badly outnumbered, was forced to withdraw in what proved to be the famous scout and frontiersman's last fight. The clash was one of the largest engagements between the Army and the Southern Plains nations.
Big Springs
Lefors, TX
For generations, the springs near this spot were a rare oasis on the Texas Panhandle plains, drawing Native peoples and, later, U.S. military expeditions. Captain Randolph B. Marcy camped here in 1852 while searching for the headwaters of the Red River, and the springs figured in the campaigns of Ranald S. MacKenzie and Nelson Miles. Archeology has confirmed that an 1874 clash between troops under Lt. Frank Baldwin and Cheyenne chief Grey Beard occurred nearby, during the Red River War that ended free Native life on the Southern Plains.