Washita Cemetery

THIS COMMUNITY BURIAL GROUND IS THE PRIMARY REMAINING HISTORIC EVIDENCE OF THE WASHITA COMMUNITY. ANGLO PIONEERS BEGAN TO SETTLE THE AREA IN THE LATE 1870s AND EARLY 1880s. AS THE COMMUNITY GREW, MEMBERS ESTABLISHED A SCHOOL, CHURCH, AND A POST OFFICE. AFTER THE 1912 DEATH OF WINIFRED THOMPSON, INFANT DAUGHTER OF ROY THOMPSON, THERE CAME A NEED FOR A COMMUNITY CEMETERY. DR. M.L. CALDWELL DONATED ONE ACRE IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF HIS PROPERTY TO BE USED FOR SUCH PURPOSES. SINCE 1912, PROMINENT CITIZENS OF WASHITA AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN LAID TO REST IN THE CEMETERY. ITS GRAVES PROVIDE A RECORD OF THOSE FAMILIES WHO FIRST SETTLED THE WASHITA COMMUNITY.