On this page: Local History; Cemetery History, including Texas Historical Marker
Latest update: Monday, June 13, 2011
"It is not known just when the Atoka school started, but some of the early settlers thought it started in the mid 1870's. Rev.
R.F. Mitchell who arrived in Atoka community in 1882 said there was a building at the Atoka Cemetery in the 70's. Most of
his children went to school there..." "Atoka... Early Settlement: Atoka Schools" article by Jack Shield
"As the land was sold and people started to come there was a store, school, church and Masonic Lodge Hall built at Atoka. A
cemetery had been started." "Atoka... Early Settlement: Charlie PARKER" article by Jack Shields
"In the early 1870’s, a large building was built and a cemetery was started at Atoka. It is probable that the land was donated
by the early Parker settlers." Atoka School by Violet G. Tyson from A History of Coleman County and Its People, 1985
"The Atoka Cemetery was probably the first community type service or place to come about in Atoka Country. Possibly, the
first person buried there was a Mexican child (only blank stones mark the early graves). There are about 50 unmarked graves
total. Another story says the first grave was a cowboy who worked for Rev. Childress or a man who was buried just west of
"When the building [Atoka School]
became unfit for use, it was torn
down and some of the lumber was
used to build a structure with just a
roof covering a table and benches.
It is in one corner of the cemetery
lot." Atoka School from A History of
Coleman County and Its People,
Texas Historical Commission: Historical Marker #232, 1996
Marker Title: Atoka Cemetery
Year Marker Erected: 1996
Marker Location: From Novice take FM 1770 3 miles west.
Turn north onto county road and continue about 1 mile
to cemetery on the left fork of the road.
Marker Text: "Settlement of this area began in the 1850s with the establishment of
Camp Colorado, a United States cavalry outpost. At the outbreak of the Civil War the
camp was occupied by Texas State Troops and Texas Ranger units. The existence
of the camp spurred permanent settlement in the area, and many families moved
here from the southern United States after the Civil War. The settlers established
farms and ranches, and the Atoka community included a general store operated by
cotton gin built by D.A. Parker. This cemetery was established in 1880 on land
deeded by C.E. Bush. Among the early pioneers buried here are the Rev. Hugh
Martin Childress, Sr., a former Texas Ranger and Republic of Texas soldier; his son,
Elisha Childress, who served as the first Coleman County sheriff; veterans of the Civil
War; and several workers killed in an explosion that occurred during the construction
of a Santa Fe Railroad bridge across Jim Ned Creek in 1910. The cemetery, which is
maintained by an association of descendants of those buried here, is one of the few
physical reminders of the Atoka community and its pioneer settlers. (1996)"
Internet References to Historical Marker