Shafter Lake Cemetery
Frankel City, Andrews County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1.5 miles West) Established just after turn of the century, on the south bank of Shafter Lake, and two miles south of the extinct settlement of Shafter Lake. Named for Colonel William R. Shafter (1835-1906), who led military expedition through region in 1875. It became the resting place for residents of remote ranches and travelers. Oldest legible gravestones are dated 1909; those of Joseph Snively and Mrs. Lucy Woolsey. Several remains have been removed by relatives; site now contains 12 known graves. The once neglected cemetery is cared for by Andrews County. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Just after the turn of the twentieth century, a burial ground took shape on the south bank of Shafter Lake, near a settlement that has since vanished from the map. It took its name from Colonel William R. Shafter, who had led a military expedition across this stretch of West Texas in 1875. The oldest legible stones date to 1909, and the once-neglected plot — now down to a dozen known graves — holds ranchers and travelers who died far from any town.
Why it matters
Lonely ranch-country cemeteries like this are often the only surviving trace of the scattered communities that briefly took root on the West Texas plains.
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Related people
- · William R. Shafter
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Shafter Lake Townsite
Andrews, TX
Platted in 1908, Shafter Lake was the first town in still-unorganized Andrews County, growing up around a water trough that served ranchers and freighters hauling between New Mexico and Texas. It took its name from the lake charted in Colonel William R. Shafter's 1875 survey, part of the campaigns that opened the Permian Basin to Anglo settlement. When the 1910 organization vote made Andrews the county seat, the town simply picked up and moved there, leaving Shafter Lake to fade away.
Irwin Ranch House
Andrews, TX
The Irwin Ranch House is the last building left of Shafter Lake, once the largest town in Andrews County and its first real settlement. Built in 1908, its frame is made of concrete blocks hand-pressed from sand taken straight out of the dry lakebed. When the town faded, this lone structure remained to mark where a West Texas boomlet had briefly stood.
Dorsie M. Pinnell
Andrews, TX
Dorsie M. Pinnell, a descendant of a Virginia Revolutionary War soldier, came to Texas at seventeen seeking better health. He served in the Spanish-American War with Company K of the 1st Texas Infantry before taking up ranching in Andrews County, where he raised four sons with his wife Jessie. His life traces the westward path of a young man who traded the East for the promise of the open Texas plains.
J. S. Means Ranch House
Andrews, TX
Built in 1900, this is among the oldest houses in Andrews County, raised at the exact point where four claimants' land sections met so each could satisfy the legal requirement to live on his claim. After the group proved up their claims, they sold to Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Means, who by 1904 held fourteen sections and kept adding land to build a thriving cattle ranch. The operation ran cattle even after oil fields spread across the range in the 1920s.