Ralls Cemetery
Ralls, Crosby County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The original five acre tract of land for this burial grund was purchased from the C.B. Livestock Co. on September 7, 1915, four years after the town of Ralls was founded. The cemetery was first used for the interment of W.H. Shell (d. 1915). The Georgia marble Bible, erected in 1963 by the Ralls Garden Club, is one of many beautification projects by local organizations, including the Lions Club and Cemetery Association. Prominent community members are buried here, including John R. Ralls, town founder. Graves also include those of veterans of several wars. 1985
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Four years after the town of Ralls was founded, its residents bought a five-acre burial ground from the C.B. Livestock Company in 1915, first used that same year. Local groups like the Garden Club and Lions Club later beautified the grounds, adding a Georgia-marble Bible monument in 1963. Town founder John R. Ralls and veterans of several wars rest among its graves.
Why it matters
A young town's cemetery captures how quickly settlers on the South Plains put down roots, marking their community's permanence in the same decade they arrived.
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Related people
- · John R. Ralls
- · W. H. Shell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Emma Cemetery
Ralls vicinity, TX
Emma Cemetery was established in 1891 on land donated by J. W. Holt for the grave of his brother-in-law, Levi Jones, and grew to hold Crosby County's first settlers, including H. C. and Elizabeth Smith. Twelve Civil War veterans rest here as well, a reminder that the men who opened the West Texas plains had often first marched in the nation's great war. Deeded to the county in 1917, the cemetery remains a cornerstone of local pioneer history.
Battle of the Freshwater Fork of the Brazos
Crosbyton, TX
In September 1871 Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie led the 4th U.S. Cavalry from Fort Griffin against Comanche who had refused to move to their reservation. Near the mouth of Blanco Canyon on October 11, Comanche warriors surprised the camp on the Freshwater Fork of the Brazos, stampeding dozens of horses and sparking a running pursuit of more than forty miles in which two Comanche and a soldier were killed and both Mackenzie and Lt. Robert Carter were wounded. The clash marked the first meeting of Mackenzie with Quanah Parker and the Quahadi Comanche—and the beginning of the end of Comanche dominance in the Panhandle, culminating in the Red River War of 1874.
Main Supply Camp on Historic Mackenzie Trail
Crosbyton, TX
In the early 1870s General Ranald Mackenzie led the U.S. 4th Cavalry across the West Texas plains in the army's campaigns to force the Comanches onto reservations. From a main supply camp on the Freshwater Fork of the Brazos — today's White River — he launched a drive against Quanah Parker's band, culminating in fights in Palo Duro and Tule Canyons. Those clashes were among the last between the Cavalry and Plains Indians in the region, and they broke the Comanche hold on the Panhandle.
The Battle of Blanco Canyon
Floydada, TX
By the 18th century the Comanche had made the canyons and plains of what became Floyd County their stronghold, dominating trade and warfare across Texas after pushing rival tribes south. In October 1871, Colonel Ranald Mackenzie led U.S. cavalry, guided by Tonkawa scouts, against the Kotsoteka and Quahadi bands who refused reservation life. In Blanco Canyon, Quanah Parker's warriors struck first and drove off the soldiers' horses; the fighting wounded both Mackenzie and Lieutenant Carter, and though the campaign frustrated the army, it began the destruction of Comanche power on the Southern Plains.