Stiles Cemetery

The people buried here lived in a county of a few hundred. Besides Stiles, Reagan County's early settlements were tiny: Reaganview had a post office from 1905 to 1910 and a one-teacher school until 1915, and Isaac had a post office from 1907 to 1909. In 1910 the county counted 392 people and fifty-one farms and ranches covering 443,715 acres. By 1920 the population had slipped to 377, while livestock grew to 48,000 sheep and 17,000 cattle, and between 1916 and 1920 up to 400 carloads of steers were unloaded at Big Lake.

What the plaque says

Stiles Cemetery (One mile west) Established about 1903. Site is on land then owned by early settlers G. W. and Lizzie Stiles. Plot summarizes much frontier history, as it holds graves of cowboys who died in accidents on cattle range; one Spanish-American War veteran; victims of shootings, rattlesnake bites, epidemic dysentery. Most were pioneers of steady habits and quiet lives. Already in use for many years, the 3-acre plot was deeded to county in 1920 by J. D. Wagner, an adventuring man who lived for years alternately in Texas and in South America. (1970)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Rankin Museum (Yates Hotel) — 26 mi
  The fireproof hotel Ira Yates built beside the Orient railway depot months after oil came in on his ranch in 1926, kept as it was down to the wicker lobby furniture.

More markers nearby

• Site of the First Court House Built in Reagan County — 1.3 mi
• Town of Texon — 14 mi
• Santa Rita No. 1 — 14 mi
• City of Big Lake — 14 mi