DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Dozier Cemetery, out in Collingsworth County. Now, northwest Collingsworth County is the kind of place that holds its history quiet — rolling farm and ranch land stretching out for miles in every direction, and sittin' right up on a hill above all of it, a cemetery that's been collecting stories since 1893. The land itself goes back a whole lot further than that, though.
Archeological evidence tells us prehistoric animals and Native Americans called this area home for thousands of years. Then the first pioneers pushed in during the 1860s, and before long, cattle ranching and farming took hold. Small rural communities rose up — schools, businesses, the whole machinery of a place trying to become something.
And the Dozier area was right in the middle of it. The cemetery takes its name from Dozier Creek, and a cowboy camp that once sat at the head of that same creek. The burial ground itself was laid out on the west boundary of the Rocking Chaire Ranche, on the R.W.
Griswold survey. Now here's where the story turns heavy. The cemetery was established in 1893, when a man known as Mr.
Elam — also recorded as Elums — who lived in the Dozier area, died from tuberculosis. He became the first to be buried there. And not long after, Mr.
Wallace became the second — murdered, the marker tells us plainly, over a grass lease payment. Two men, two very different kinds of endings, and a cemetery that was only just getting started. Over the years, Dozier Cemetery became the final resting place not just for the Dozier community, but for folks from Abra, Enterprise, Lone Mound, Prairie View, and Samnorwood as well.
The grave markers range from small metal markers to sizable granite engraved ones, and the cemetery includes marked unknown burial plots. Covers run from gravel to granite to native soil — each one a choice made by somebody who cared. Those tree rows along the east side and the northwest corner?
They're not just scenery. They came out of Works Progress Administration projects in the 1930s — Depression-era labor that shaped the land and, in its own quiet way, shaped what the cemetery looks like to this day. And still, when funeral services bring people back to the Dozier area, they say it brings folks back to their roots.
That hill hasn't moved. The land rolls out the same as it always has. And up there on top of it, the Dozier Cemetery keeps watch over all of it — the cowboys, the pioneers, the unnamed, and the unforgotten.
What the marker says
Located in northwest Collingsworth County, the Dozier Cemetery was named after the Dozier Creek and a nearby cowboy camp at the head of the creek. This area has been inhabited for thousands of years as evidenced by archeological evidence of prehistoric animals and Native Americans. The first pioneers settled here in the 1860s and soon, with cattle ranching and farming, the area began to grow. Small, rural communities were established with schools and businesses. The Dozier Cemetery was established in 1893, when Mr. Elam (Elums), who lived in the Dozier area, died from tuberculosis. The burial ground was located on the west boundary of the Rocking Chaire Ranche on the R.W. Griswold survey. Soon after, Mr. Wallace was murdered over a grass lease payment and became the second burial in the cemetery. Dozier cemetery is not only the final resting place for people of the Dozier community, but also the neighboring communities of Abra, Enterprise, Lone Mound, Prairie View and Samnorwood. Sitting atop a hill, the gently rolling farm and ranch land surround the cemetery for miles. Tree rows along the east side and northwest corner are the result of 1930s works progress administration (WPA) projects. Grave markers vary from small metal markers to sizable granite engraved markers, and the cemetery includes marked unknown burial plots. Grave covers include gravel, granite and native soil. Funeral services for loved ones often bring people back to their roots in the Dozier area. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2011