Colorado City Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The Texas and Pacific Railroad rolled into Colorado City in April of 1881, and things moved fast after that. The first lots were laid out and sold shortly thereafter, and a town was taking shape out there on the Mitchell County plain.

Now, wherever people put down roots, well, they also have to put down their dead. The local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge Number 280, saw to that. They established a burial ground right there for their members and their families, and the city designated the land right beside it for a public cemetery.

Two neighboring grounds, side by side, each serving the living in their own way by caring for those who had passed. The earliest grave on record belongs to Clint Mooney, and that date, April 29, 1881, tells you something. The railroad arrived in April of 1881, and Clint Mooney was in the ground that same month.

Colorado City was barely a name on a map, and already the cemetery had its first tenant. The years rolled on. The Odd Fellows eventually deeded their section over to the city, and in 1928 the city built a formal entry and put up a rock wall running along the south and east sides.

Gave the place some permanence. Some dignity. Over time, the cemetery grew to include the Lone Wolf, Colorado, and Park additions.

More than five thousand citizens are buried there now, five thousand souls whose lives make up the long story of Colorado City. That cemetery isn't just a resting place. It's the record.

Every addition, every wall, every grave going back to that first April tells you who this town was and what it cost to build it.

What the marker says

The Texas & Pacific Railroad came to Colorado (City) in April 1881, with the first lots laid out and sold shortly thereafter. The Local Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge No. 280 established a burial ground here for its members and their families, and the city designated adjacent land for a public cemetery. The earliest grave, that of Clint Mooney, dates to April 29, 1881. The IOOF later deeded their section to the city, who in 1928 built a formal entry and a rock wall along the south and east sides. In addition to the IOOF section, the cemetery includes the Lone Wolf, Colorado, and Park additions. The cemetery reflects Colorado City's history, with more than 5,000 citizens buried here. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2016