Rankin Cemetery was established in 1915, soon after the founding of Rankin, by civic leaders Ira Yates, J.H. Felps, Tom F. Hickox, and Dr. J.H. Johnson. Johnson's niece, Mary Evelyn Johnson, was the first to be buried here in 1916. Many burials occurred during the 1920s, when population in the area increased greatly after oil was discovered in Upton and Pecos counties. The cemetery is known to contain the unmarked graves of two bank robbers, and the graveyard reflects the heritage of this area of the state.