Ropesville Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker out here in Hockley County has to say about Ropesville Cemetery. Now settle in, because this story starts, like so many good Texas stories, with a deal. In 1917, a local rancher by the name of I.L.

Ellwood sat down with the Santa Fe railroad and worked out an arrangement. Ellwood would hand over 85 acres of his Spade Ranch, and in return, the railroad would lay tracks through that land to connect the towns of Lubbock and Seagraves. Part of the bargain: a depot, stock pens, and an agent's house.

Not bad for a stretch of West Texas hardpan. Word traveled fast. Ranchers from as far away as New Mexico began driving cattle to that very site, where rope corrals held the animals until they could be shipped out.

When the time came to give the depot an official name, the name chosen was Ropes. Then in 1920, a post office opened under the name Ropesville, and just like that, a community had taken root. Now, a community is more than a depot and a post office.

It's the people who settle in, raise families, and eventually, lay their loved ones to rest. And that part, in those early years, was harder than it ought to have been. If someone in Ropesville died, the family faced a grim choice: carry the deceased all the way back to their old hometown, or haul them to the nearest established cemetery, over in Meadow, in neighboring Terry County.

That was the reality until 1933, when it changed, and it changed because of one man's dying wish. A farmer and rancher named Lee Cowan was severely injured that year. Before he died, he made one request: he wanted to be buried on the knoll just west of town.

Now, that knoll belonged to Ellwood. And here is where the story turns quiet and serious for a moment, because Ellwood honored that request. He donated one acre of his land, and Ropesville Cemetery was established.

One man's final wish, and another man's willingness to honor it, gave this whole community a place to bury its dead. Folks began holding regular interments at the site, and it didn't take long before it became clear that someone needed to be minding the place. Around 1935, the Ropes Cemetery Association was organized to do exactly that.

The cemetery kept growing. In 1943, one half acre was purchased from the Farm Security Administration. Then in 1992, another two and a half acres were added to the site.

Today, Ropesville Cemetery still serves the people of Ropesville and the rural residents all around it. What started as a dying man's wish, honored by a neighbor with one acre of ground, became something that outlasted them both.

What the marker says

In 1917, local rancher I.L. Ellwood negotiated a deal with the Santa Fe railroad to build tracks through his Spade Ranch in order to connect the towns of Lubbock and Seagraves. Ellwood offered the company 85 acres in exchange for the construction of a depot with stock pens and an agent’s house. Ranchers from as far away as New Mexico began driving cattle to the site, where rope corrals contained the animals until shipment. When the depot was officially named, the name “Ropes” was chosen. In 1920, a post office was established under the name “Ropesville.” During the community’s early years, loved ones who wished to bury the dead in a cemetery were forced to either transport the deceased back to their old home towns, or to the nearest established cemetery at Meadow in neighboring Terry County. In 1933, farmer and rancher Lee Cowan was severely injured, but before he died, he requested that he be buried on the knoll just west of town. Upon Cowan’s death, Ellwood, who owned the land, honored Cowan’s request by donating one acre for the establishment of a burial ground, creating Ropesville Cemetery. After residents began conducting regular interments at the site, the need for an organization to oversee it became apparent, and the Ropes Cemetery association was organized ca. 1935. The cemetery grew in size when one half acre was purchased from the Farm Security Administration in 1943, and another 2.5 acres were purchased in 1992 to add to the site. Today, Ropesville Cemetery continues to serve the people of Ropesville as well as area rural residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2008