Ropesville in Hockley County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Ropesville Cemetery

By Bill Kirchner, April 28, 2014

1. Ropesville Cemetery Marker

Inscription. 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

By Bill Kirchner, April 28, 2014

2. Ropesville Cemetery Marker

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

Erected 2008 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16474.)

Location. 33° 24.733′ N, 102° 10.496′ W. Marker is in Ropesville, Texas, in Hockley County. Marker is at the intersection of South State Road (Farm to Market Road 168) and Farm to Market Road 41, on the left when traveling north on South State Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ropesville TX 79358, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Site of Primrose School (approx. 0.9 miles away); Ropesville Resettlement Project (approx. 1.3 miles away); Meadow Cemetery (approx. 4.9 miles away); Meadow United Methodist Church (approx. 5.4 miles away); Meadow Depot (approx. 5½ miles away); Brooks Blacksmith Shop (approx. 5½ miles away); Route of Nolan Expedition (approx. 8.6 miles away); The Spade Ranch (approx. 12.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ropesville.

Categories. • Cemeteries & Burial Sites •

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on May 8, 2014, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 293 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 8, 2014, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.