Frio Town Cemetery (1991)

Founded in 1871, Frio Town served as the first county seat of Frio County. A courthouse was built in 1876, and a number of families built homes in the area. The International and Great Northern Railroad built a line from San Antonio to Laredo in 1881, bypassing Frio Town. By 1883 the new town of Pearsall (16 mi. E) on the rail line became the new county seat. One of the few physical reminders of the historic Frio Town community, this cemetery stands as a testament to the county's early pioneer history. The first burials occurred in 1873, when Calvin Massey (1797-1873) was killed by Indians, and Robert Wesley Hiler (1855-1873) died in a horse riding accident. Among the pioneer settlers interred here are Ben (1813-1893) and Minerva (1817-1895) Slaughter and their descendants, as well as members of the Roberts, Hiler, Little, Loxton, Taylor, Hattox, Blackaller, and Minus families. A number of early graves are unmarked. Six men killed in an Indian raid on the William J. Slaughter sheep ranch in 1876 are buried together in a row of graves. The cemetery also contains the burials of a number of infants and small children, a reflection of harsh conditions on the frontier. (1991)

Frio Town Cemetery is a historical marker in Frio Town, Frio County, dedicated in 1991. It is one of 13 historical markers documented in Frio County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 37 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.0180, -99.3090 near Frio Town. The nearest cataloged historic site is Frio Town Cemetery (cemetery), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Frio Town, Unknown Grave, and Tehuacana Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5163002066. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.