Becton Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it along to you. Out here on the South Plains, where the farmland stretches flat and quiet in every direction, there's a cemetery that carries a name going back to a Tennessee man who decided Texas was where his story belonged. Abner M.

Becton, Tennessee native, made his way out to the Estacado area in the late 1890s. Now, the Estacado country wasn't exactly a crowded neighborhood. But that's where Abner met Cornelia Bryant, and the two of them wed.

Then in 1898, the couple moved to land in this particular area, where a man named W. E. Bledsoe had already gotten there first and established a ranch.

That's the lay of the land they were working with. A small community took root, and it took on the Becton name. This site, right here, became its public cemetery.

The first known burial was in 1932, and if you think that's the end of the story, well, it isn't. That burial ground is active to this day, maintained by Becton descendants, the kind of quiet stewardship that doesn't make headlines but means everything. The graves include those of area veterans.

And the cemetery itself, ringed by South Plains farmland, stands as a reminder of the settlers who shaped this place and the wide open landscape they looked out at every single day. Some legacies aren't loud. Some are just here, enduring.

What the marker says

Tennessee native Abner M. Becton moved to the Estacado area in the late 1890s. There, he met and wed Cornelia Bryant. The couple moved in 1898 to land in this area, where W.E. Bledsoe had already established a ranch. The small community became known as Becton, and this site served as a public cemetery. The first known burial took place in 1932, and the burial ground, maintained by Becton descendants, is active today. Graves include those of area veterans. The cemetery, surrounded by South Plains farmland, serves as a reminder of area settlers and the landscape they knew. Historic Texas Cemetery 2003