Texas Canyon Pioneer Cemetery

Texas Canyon Pioneer Cemetery. Final Resting Place of Texas Canyon's earliest settlers and their descendants. , In 1895, seventeen-year-old William Walter Adams left Coleman County, Texas, to visit his older brother, Dave A. Adams, who was one of the first of the Adams family to settle in the Little Dragoon Mountains of Cochise County. "Will," soon decided to put down roots as well and applied for a homestead grant, settling on what would eventually become the Amerind Foundation property. The two were soon joined by four more brothers, three sisters, and their mother. With so many Texans settling in the area, people began referencing to it as Texas Canyon. Will returned to Texas in 1905 to marry his sweetheart, Orphy (Ofelia) Burton, and they returned to Arizona after the wedding. Will and Orphy had two daughters, Ethel and May, and three sons, Walter, Willard, and Wallace. When five-year-old Ethel died after being thrown from a horse, Will and Orphy buried her on the homestead. On January 27, 1911, Ethel became the first to be laid to rest in what is now the Texas Canyon Pioneer Cemetery., Over the years, Will Adams urged community members to reserve burial sites on the land he set aside for the cemetery. In June of 1939, their other daughter, May Clark, sent out invitations for a cemetery work party and requested donations for the fencing material. Donations came in and many helpers showed up to set the corner, fence, and gateposts. The five-foot fencing was ordered, but there wasn't enough cash left from the donations to pay for it, so Will put $10 down on a payment plan from Sears Roebuck and Co. in Los Angeles and paid off the balance of $116 in $9 monthly installments. , After Will Adams' death in 1959, Orphy sold the homestead and cemetery to William Shirley and Rose Fulton, founders of the Amerind. Taking care of the cemetery upkeep and maintaining the records is now the responsibility of the Foundation. Reservations for burial sites made during Will Adams' time are still in effect, but no additional reservations can be made and no one can be interred here unless their name appears on the pioneer list. As you can see, an area behind the cemetery has been fenced as well. Mr and Mrs Fulton, their son and daughter, and other family members are buried in this Fulton family plot. , Note: Students from the Benson Chapter of the Future Farmers of America, under the guidance of Mr. Gilbert Zamudio, generously donated their skills and efforts as well as some of the materials for the metal sign installed in the fall of 2007.