Wolfforth Cemetery Receives Historic Texas Cemetery Designation

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) recognized the Wolfforth Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) on March 16, 2020.  On October 19, 2020 the City of Wolfforth will issue a proclamation honoring the Wolfforth Cemetery at the City Council meeting at 6:00 p.m. The Lubbock County Historical Commission will present the HTC medallion to the Wolfforth Cemetery Association. 

The HTC designation was developed in 1998 to help protect historic cemeteries and is an official recognition of family and community graveyards. A cemetery is eligible for designation if it is at least 50 years old and is deemed worthy of recognition for its historical associations.   This designation is a prestigious honor, and one which reflects most favorably upon the Wolfforth Cemetery, the Wolfforth Cemetery Association, and the efforts of the people of Wolfforth to preserve their proud heritage. The Wolfforth Cemetery is the ninth cemetery in Lubbock County honored as a HTC.

The Wolfforth Cemetery began in 1927 when community leader Albert J. Brooks according to family lore, “donated” 2.45 acres of land about a mile west of the town of Wolfforth with the intention of making burials free for local residents. That same year, infant Ruby Hazel Fulfer (March 28, 1927) became the first burial in the cemetery, although her grave is unmarked today. The headstone of day-old Billy Lois Sims (August 6, 1927) notes the earliest dated burial.

In 1991, the Wolfforth Cemetery Association (WCA), a non-profit organization, was created and established goals, rules of occupancy and a vision for the future of the cemetery. Being conscientious and compassionate cemetery stewards, the Wolfforth Cemetery Association wisely funded a land survey in 2017 which utilized ground penetrating radar to locate and document approximately 80 unmarked graves on the property.  Mary Sewell is recognized as instrumental in the formation of the WCA and preservation of the historic Wolfforth Cemetery.