Rocksprings Cemetery

The tornado that filled part of this cemetery came without warning on the evening of April 12, 1927, after a warm day of thunderstorms and hail the size of baseballs. It touched down three miles northwest of town and was more than a mile wide when it crossed Rocksprings, destroying 235 of the town's 247 buildings. Seventy-two people died in Rocksprings and two more near Leakey, and about 200 were injured, a third of the town killed or hurt. It remains the third-deadliest tornado in Texas history.

What the plaque says

Rocksprings Cemetery The town of Rocksprings traces its beginnings to 1889, when J. R. Sweeten dug the first water well in the area to serve new settlers. Three years later, in 1892, Sweeten donated two acres of land to be used as a community cemetery. There were some burials at this site prior to its formal designation as a cemetery. Two children, Willie J. Blackwell and Ben Smith, were interred here in 1891. Many of the people buried in the Rocksprings Cemetery in the early years were travelers passing through the area. Among the more than one thousand graves are those of victims of a devastating tornado which struck the town of April 12, 1927. Over the years, additional land acquisitions have increased the size of the cemetery. Iron fencing which once surrounded some grave sites was donated to scrap metal drives during World War II. The Rocksprings Cemetery Association, which originated in 1897, was formally chartered by the state in 1967. Through such projects as surveys and landscaping, the association continues to maintain the historic graveyard, which remains as a visible link to the community's past. (1989)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area — 0.7 mi
  A 140-foot shaft into a cavern outside Rocksprings, seen only on guided tours from a platform at the rim as some three million bats spiral out on summer evenings.
• Real County Historical Museum — 33 mi
  A small county museum in Leakey, at the head of the Frio Canyon, with a log-cabin parlor, an 1880s horse-drawn hearse, a wool and mohair shearing machine and 1910s jail cells.

More markers nearby

• The Rock Spring — steps away
• Gilmer Hotel — 0.6 mi
• Rocksprings Telephone Company — 0.7 mi
• Edwards County — 0.7 mi