Rankin Cemetery
Rankin, Upton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This cemetery was established in 1915. Soon after the founding of Rankin, by civic leaders Ira Yates, J. H. Felps, Tom F. Hickox, and Dr. J. H. Johnson. Johnson's niece, Mary Evelyn Johnson, was the first to be buried here in 1916. Many burials occurred during the 1920s. When population in the area increased greatly after oil was discovered in Upton and Pecos counties. Rankin Cemetery is known to contain the unmarked graves of two bank robbers. The graveyard is a good reflection of the heritage of this area of the state. 1985
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1915 by civic leaders including Ira Yates and Dr. J. H. Johnson soon after the town of Rankin took shape, this cemetery received its first burial—Johnson's young niece—in 1916. Its graves multiplied in the 1920s as oil strikes in Upton and Pecos counties swelled the local population. Among its residents, tradition holds, lie the unmarked graves of two bank robbers.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a quiet ledger of the West Texas oil boom, recording both the leaders who built the town and the rough characters the era drew in.
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Related people
- · Ira Yates
- · Dr. J. H. Johnson
- · Mary Evelyn Johnson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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