Hockley County Cemetery

Hockley County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1876 but did not formally organize until 1921, when the small settlement of Hockley City, now Levelland, became the county seat. After the Santa Fe railroad arrived in 1925, the county’s population grew rapidly, rising from 137 in 1920 to 9,298 in 1930, and agricultural expansion brought in many new workers, including minorities, during an era of widespread segregation. In fall 1927, the Hockley County Commissioners Court set aside two acres for a segregated cemetery for indigent and minority residents, known as Hockley County Cemetery or the north side cemetery. County death records show that Jerry McHenry, an African American, was the first person buried there, in April 1930, and Nora Robertson was the last recorded burial in 1975. The cemetery contains fourteen marked graves and more than 100 unmarked burials, including veterans of both World Wars. Though it remains open for interment, it has seen little use since the 1960s, when Levelland Cemetery was desegregated, and it stands as a reminder of the people who helped build Hockley County.

Texas · United States