When it built Lake Texoma, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), relocated 20 cemeteries and moved about 6,000 graves to new locations. This was part of the USACE’s broader effort to clear land that Lake Texoma would eventually submerge.

The USACE moved several Native American cemeteries during the relocation efforts. Exact details about how many of the cemeteries or graves were Native American are spread out through different agencies and difficult to document. Some cemeteries were completely moved to higher ground and other graves were reinterred to nearby cemeteries. 

Before we called this region Texomaland, significant numbers of Chickasaw and Choctaw members inhabited Southeastern Oklahoma. The relocated cemeteries included Native American burial sites and non-Native sites. The USACE collaborated with tribal leaders so that the process respected the Native American traditions.

The Chickasaw and Choctaw people historically held spiritual beliefs that affected their burial processes. This included the tradition of not marking graves with headstones or markers. They believed they would alert evil spirits to who the deceased were and disturb them.

The Native American communities experienced colonization and cultural changes with the removal of them from their homelands to Indian Nation (Oklahoma). Their burial practices evolved to place markers on graves like traditional Western burial practices.

Part of the reason for the Native America change in burial practices in Indian Nation could be that as the tribes assimilated with European and American immigrants, they adopted Christianity. Dozens of Christian denominations sent missionaries to Indian Nation during and after the Trail of Tears due to President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act.

The four counties directly bordering Lake Texoma have a large number of cemeteries, including church, family, private, and public cemeteries. Many family cemeteries are on private property and not officially documented. It can be challenging for family history researchers and genealogists to locate their ancestors for this reason.

These numbers may not be totally accurate because of the above reasons, but initial research on this subject shows that Cooke County, Texas, has approximately 150 cemeteries. Grayson County, Texas, has over 250 cemeteries, Bryan County, Oklahoma, has about 100 cemeteries, and Cooke County, Texas, has approximately 150 cemeteries.

The four immediate Texomaland counties have officially cataloged some of the lesser-known family cemeteries, but not all of them. Marshall and Bryan Counties have the most Native American cemeteries, while Cooke and Grayson County, Texas, cemeteries have more early settlers and ranchers buried in them.

Native American Grave Relocations

During the construction of Lake Texoma in the early 1940s, the USACE moved numerous Native American burial sites, including from the Lake Texoma islands. Some of the Native artifacts, cultural materials, and remains were transferred to institutions like the University of Oklahoma for study, preservation, or eventual repatriation.

Native American remains displaced by the construction of Lake Texoma are part of collections held by the University of Oklahoma. The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma houses collections from before European and American immigration to today’s Texomaland.

Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Oklahoma collaborated with tribes to repatriate human remains and sacred objects to Native American groups, and primarily, the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations in Texomaland.

For researchers, the Sam Noble Museum or the university’s NAGPRA office may be a good resource to consult. They can provide more detailed information on the history of these remains and efforts for their return them to their appropriate tribal communities.

Texomaland Military Graves

Bryan County, Oklahoma

Murray Cemetery near Calera: Contains several military graves, including those of veterans from various conflicts.

Bryan County Veterans Cemetery near Durant: A designated veterans cemetery specifically for the burial of military veterans and their eligible family members.

Cedar Hill Cemetery in Durant: Includes graves of veterans from multiple branches of the military.

Marshall County, Oklahoma

Woodland Cemetery in Madill: This cemetery has several military graves, including veterans from different wars.

Madill City Cemetery: Contains a section for veterans and military graves.

Oklahoma Veterans Cemetery, Ardmore: This cemetery is accessible to all residents in Marshall County. It is a state-operated cemetery specifically for veterans.

Cooke County, Oklahoma

Cooke County Cemetery, Gainesville: This cemetery includes a section dedicated to military veterans from various conflicts.

Fairview Cemetery, Gainesville: Contains numerous graves of veterans from different branches of the military.

Muenster Cemetery, Muenster: Features military graves, including those of World War I and World War II veterans.

Valley View Cemetery, Valley View: Has several military graves representing various service branches.

Grayson County, Texas

Cedarlawn Memorial Park, Sherman: A prominent cemetery that includes a significant number of military graves, with sections specifically designated for veterans.

West Hill Cemetery, Sherman: Contains graves of veterans from different conflicts, including the Civil War and World War II.

Southmayd Cemetery, Southmayd: Features several military graves.

Van Alstyne Cemetery, Van Alstyne: Includes a section for military veterans.

The topic for this article was inspired by a laketexoma.com reader who had a specific question about a cemetery in Bryan County, but did not have a cemetery name. I wrote an article several years ago about the relocated Native American cemetery on Goat Island in the far western pool of Lake Texoma.

I have talked to several witnesses to the removal of Native American remains on one of the party islands off the shores of Mill Creek Resort & Marina and Tanglewood Resort. That was more than likely in the 1950s or 1960s, but I could not find the correct people to talk to at Sam Noble Museum about a date, but they did confirm those eyewitness accounts.

There are more than a few family and officially unrecorded cemeteries along the stretch of 377 between Madill, Oklahoma, and Whitesboro, Texas. I have visited most of them. I plan on collecting a list of them as I travel around the Texomaland counties, which I do when I can or I want to cover an event. I cannot say how much time this will take, but maybe a year or a little longer.

If you have any information on cemeteries and graveyards that are family plots, not well known, or not under perpetual management, please email me at [email protected].