DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Dreamland Cemetery in Randall County. Now, there's something about a place that starts with one name and ends up with another — and this one started plain enough, as Canyon City Cemetery, and arrived somewhere considerably more poetic. Pull up a chair, because the ground here has stories stacked deep.
S.W. Kelley deeded the property to Randall County for cemetery use in 1891. That same year — same year, mind you, not a season later — the first burials took place.
Two of them. William E. McElroy was one.
The other was Jerry Adams, an African American cowboy who died during a cattle drive. Think about that for a moment. A man working cattle out on the Texas Panhandle, far from wherever home might've been, and the ground of this county became his resting place.
That deserves the weight of silence before we move on. The cemetery carried the name Canyon City Cemetery for nearly two decades before the Civic Improvement League stepped in and changed it to Dreamland in 1909. Additional acreage came in 1932, and again in 1963, because the land kept needing to hold more of the county's story.
And what a story it holds. Many of the early pioneers buried here were farmers and ranchers — the kind of people who built something out of nothing but grit and Panhandle wind. Among the notable figures laid to rest is L.G.
Connor, the founder of Canyon City, the town that eventually just became Canyon. Prominent financier L.T. Lester is here too.
So are Judge Burney Slack, E.D. Harrell, John and Margaret Knight, C.R. Burrow, and Clyde Warwick — names that meant something when this county was finding its footing.
But Dreamland didn't stop collecting prominent company there. More recent burials include J.A. Hill and J.P.
Cornette, both presidents of West Texas A&M. Hattie Anderson, the founder of the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, rests here. Margaret Harper — the woman who created the outdoor drama Texas, performed in Palo Duro Canyon — she's here.
And so is Buddy Knox, the musician. Veterans are represented too, their service stretching all the way back to the Civil War. Randall County maintained the cemetery until 1957, when it transferred operations to concerned citizens who came together and formed the Dreamland Cemetery Association.
That association tends the grounds to this day. So here's what you've got: a burial ground that began with a deed and two graves in 1891, changed its name from something utilitarian to something almost hopeful, and has been quietly accumulating the full sweep of Randall County life ever since — cowboys and founders, museum builders and drama creators, presidents and veterans. Dreamland.
Of all the names to land on, that one fits just right.
What the marker says
Originally named Canyon City Cemetery, this burial ground has served the nearby community since early in Canyon's history. In 1891, S.W. Kelley deeded property to Randall County for cemetery use. That same year, the first burials occurred, for William E. McElroy and for Jerry Adams, an African American cowboy who died during a cattle drive. The Civic Improvement League changed the cemetery's name to Dreamland in 1909, and additional acreage was added to the property in 1932 and 1963. Many early pioneers of Randall County, who were mostly farmers and ranchers, are buried here. A number of noted county figures are also interred, including L.G. Connor, the founder of the Canyon City (now Canyon) and prominent financier L.T. Lester. Other prominent early Randall County residents buried here include Judge Burney Slack, E.D. Harrell, John and Margaret Knight, C.R. Burrow and Clyde Warwick. More recent burials include J.A. Hill and J.P. Cornette, West Texas A&M Presidents; Hattie Anderson, Panhandle Plains Historical Museum founder; Margaret Harper, creator of the Palo Duro Canyon outdoor drama "Texas"; and musician Buddy Knox. Others represented here include veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War. Randall County maintained the property until 1957, transferring operations to concerned citizens who formed the Dreamland Cemetery Association. Today, the association continues to care for the historic Dreamland Cemetery, which still serves the residents of Randall County and remains as a testament to the early settlers of Canyon. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2007