Near Mountain Home in Kerr County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Sunset Cemetery

Photographed By James Hulse, October 31, 2020

1. Sunset Cemetery Marker

Inscription.

The earliest marked graves in this cemetery are those of James and Susan Dowdy's four children. They were killed by Indians in 1878, soon after the family migrated from Goliad. However, local tradition says the first interment is that of M.B. Shults. Plain stones mark burial sites of four Byas children who died in the 1880s Typhoid Epidemic. Early pioneer H.L. Nelson (1835 - 1922), who established Mountain Home Post Office, is buried here. Land for this 4-acre cemetery has been acquired from the A.E. Oehler heirs, M.D. Henderson, and Sunset School when it closed in 1953.

Erected 1979 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 5150.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Education • Wars, US Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1878.

Location. 30° 9.34′ N, 99° 21.054′ W. Marker is near Mountain Home, Texas, in Kerr County. Marker can be reached from Junction Highway (State Highway 27) half a mile south of Sunset Cemetery Road W.. The marker is located 100 feet past the cemetery entrance on the left and laying flat on a short pedestal. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mountain Home TX 78058, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Dowdy Tragedy of 1878

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(approx. 0.6 miles away); Hunt Japonica Cemetery (approx. 5.4 miles away); Hunt (approx. 6 miles away); Schumacher Crossing on the Guadalupe River (approx. 6.2 miles away); Henderson Cemetery (approx. 6.6 miles away); Site of Sherman's Mill (approx. 7 miles away); History of Stonehenge II (approx. 8.4 miles away); Old Ingram (approx. 8.6 miles away).

Regarding Sunset Cemetery. Later reports on the Dowdy murders indicated that many people at the time thought that Indians were not to blame but bandits dressed up as Indians. "It is believed at headquarters that the murderers of the Dowdy family were white men, and that the girls were outraged (sexually assaulted)". Source: The Galveston Daily News, Nov. 27, 1878

Also see . . . Unsolved Mystery of the Dowdy Family Massacre. Texas Hill Country website entry (Submitted on November 12, 2020, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

Photographed By James Hulse, October 31, 2020

2. Sunset Cemetery Marker

Sunset Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, October 31, 2020

3. Sunset Cemetery

M.B. Shults tombstone - Oldest grave in the Cemetery. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, October 31, 2020

4. M.B. Shults tombstone - Oldest grave in the Cemetery.

The two graves on the left are for the 4 Dowdy children - Susan, Alice, Martha and James image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, October 31, 2020

5. The two graves on the left are for the 4 Dowdy children - Susan, Alice, Martha and James

James and Susan Dowdy's graves - the parents of the Dowdy children image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, October 31, 2020

6. James and Susan Dowdy's graves - the parents of the Dowdy children

Credits. This page was last revised on October 4, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2020, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 547 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 12, 2020, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.