HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil War

Williams Ranch Cemetery

Mullin, Mills County, Texas

Marker Inscription

THIS HISTORIC CEMETERY OVERLOOKS THE NATURAL SPRINGS THAT WERE ONCE THE FRONTIER SETTLEMENT KNOWN AS WILLIAMS RANCH ON LAND GRANTED TO WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS IN 1852. IN 1855, JOHN WILLIAMS AND WIFE ANNIE EPLEY WILLIAMS MOVED TO THIS AREA AND FOUNDED THE WILLIAMS RANCH SETTLEMENT. THE FIRST MARKED GRAVE DATES TO 1864 AND IS THAT OF SIX-YEAR-OLD C.K. CONNER, GREAT-GRANDSON OF JOHN WILLIAMS, WHO DIED FROM A HORSE ACCIDENT. A VARIETY OF HEADSTONES INCLUDING GRANITE, LIMESTONE AND CAST IRON MARK THE GRAVES OF MANY PIONEERS, EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS ALONG WITH VETERANS FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE KOREAN WAR. ORGANIZED IN 1968, THE WILLIAMS RANCH CEMETERY ASSOCIATION MAINTAINS THE CEMETERY.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Overlooking the springs that gave rise to the frontier settlement of Williams Ranch, this cemetery sits on land granted to William W. Williams in 1852 and settled by John and Annie Williams in 1855. Its first marked grave, from 1864, is that of a six-year-old great-grandson killed in a horse accident. Granite, limestone, and cast-iron markers record pioneers and their descendants, including veterans from the Civil War to the Korean War.

Why it matters

The burial ground is the enduring trace of a vanished frontier settlement, tracing one family's role in settling the Central Texas hill country.

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Related people

  • · William W. Williams
  • · John Williams
  • · Annie Epley Williams

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionMilitary & WartimeFrontier HistoryGhost TownsLandmark

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