Higgins Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Higgins Cemetery, out there in Lipscomb County. Now, most cemeteries start with a town. This one started with a bet.

Back in 1887, a man named E.C. Gray and his brother-in-law George Patton, along with Jim Patton, were watching the Santa Fe Railroad make plans to push into the Texas Panhandle. And those three men made a calculated wager — they bought up land in this area presuming, as the marker puts it, that the railroad would build right through it.

Gray's section was where the line would cross. So that same year, 1887, Higgins was platted on land that E.C. Gray owned.

They weren't wrong. The railroad came through, and Higgins grew — into an agricultural community, a ranching community, and eventually an oil community. The town itself was named for G.H.

Higgins, a stockholder in the Santa Fe Railroad. Not a bad way to get a town named after you. Now, E.C.

Gray eventually deeded a piece of that same land as a cemetery, and he did it officially in 1900 — though folks had already been using it before that time. That's the thing about frontier communities. They didn't wait on paperwork.

The earliest marked graves belong to two children — Ellen M. Patton and Howard F. Peugh — both of whom died in 1889.

And the marker notes, with quiet weight, that earlier unmarked burials may also exist here. The ground holds more history than it shows. Among those interred is Dr.

Rudolf Goettsche — a pioneer dentist and, notably, the county sheriff. That's a combination that probably kept folks in line at the dental chair. There's also Frank Ewing and George Sennett, identified as friends of and early influences on noted humorist Will Rogers.

To be counted among the people who shaped Will Rogers — that's a legacy worth noting. But there is one chapter in this cemetery's story that demands you stop and sit with it a moment. April 9, 1947.

A tornado tore through Higgins and destroyed many of the town's residences and its entire business district. Forty-five townspeople lost their lives. Forty-five.

And they are here, in this ground, among the community they were part of. The cemetery also holds veterans of military conflicts going all the way back to the Civil War, alongside community leaders and early pioneers. The burial ground itself features vertical stones, curbing, statuary, and grave slabs — a range of markers that spans generations of grief and remembrance.

And it's still in use today. Higgins Cemetery began with a land gamble and a railroad line, and it became the place where a whole community — its children, its characters, its heroes, and its heartbreak — came to rest. That ground has been holding stories since the late 1800s, and it isn't done yet.

What the marker says

This burial ground has served residents of the Higgins Community since the late 1800s. Higgins was platted in 1887 on land owned by E.C. Gray, who purchased area property along with his brother-in-law George Patton, and Jim Patton. The three bought land presuming that the Santa Fe Railroad, who planned on expanding to the Texas Panhandle, would build through this area. The railroad would cross Gray’s section, and Higgins would grow into an agricultural, ranching and oil community. The town was named for G.H. Higgins, a stockholder in the Santa Fe Railroad. Gray deeded this property as a cemetery in 1900, though residents used it before that time. The earliest marked graves are of Ellen M. Patton and Howard F. Peugh, two children who died in 1889. Earlier unmarked burials may also exist here. Others interred include Dr. Rudolf Goettsche, a pioneer dentist and county sheriff; Frank Ewing and George Sennett, friends of and early influences on noted humorist Will Rogers; and the victims of the April 9, 1947 tornado which destroyed many of town’s residences and its business district, claiming the lives of 45 townspeople. The burial ground also holds community leaders, early pioneers and veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War. The burial ground features vertical stones, curbing, statuary and grave slabs. Still used today, Higgins Cemetery remains as a testament to the pioneering men and women who lived and worked in the Higgins Community. Historic texas cemetery – 2006