Kiowa Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out here in Lipscomb County, a cemetery can hold more history than most folks figure. This one's called Kiowa Cemetery, named for the nearby creek, and the story of the people buried here stretches back a long, long way before they ever set foot on Texas soil.

We're talkin' mid-1700s, when families of German descent began settling in Russia, during the rule of Catherine the Great. Think on that for a moment. These folks carried a whole civilization across one continent, then eventually crossed an ocean, then crossed the American plains, and wound up right here, south of Booker, on Kiowa Creek.

By 1910, several of these German-Russian families had put down roots along that creek, and they did what close-knit people do when they land somewhere new. They established a Lutheran church. The charter members included the Meller family, the Bechthold family, and the Littau family.

All three of those names are represented in the burial ground we're talkin' about right now. The first interment in Kiowa Cemetery was Abraham Littau, in 1912. And then, in 1916, Leonhard and Katherine Littau donated the very property for use as the cemetery itself.

A family giving ground so a community could remember its people. Today, descendants of those interred here are the ones who care for this burial ground. That's the part that lands with me.

The same families who came all the way from Catherine the Great's Russia to a creek in the Texas Panhandle, they're still tending to each other. Some roots go deeper than the ground you plant them in.

What the marker says

Named for the nearby creek, Kiowa Cemetery served the residents who settled here in the early 20th century. The community consisted of Russians of German descent whose families began settling in Russia in the mid-1700s, during the rule of Catherine the Great. In 1910, several of these German-Russian families settled on the Kiowa Creek south of Booker; they soon established a Lutheran church. Charter members of the church included the Meller, Bechthold, and Littau families; all are represented in this burial ground. The first internment, of Abraham Littau, occurred in 1912. In 1916, Leonhard and Katherine Littau donated property for use as a cemetery. Today, descendents of the interred care for this burial ground. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2007