Alta Loma Cemetery Plaque

In the heart of Santa Fe, Texas, lies the Alta Loma Cemetery Plaque. It whispers tales of a vanished town, a community swallowed by time, yet remembered. The Alta Loma Cemetery Plaque stands as a sentinel, guarding the stories of the pioneers who carved their lives into this unforgiving landscape. The plaque itself, a gleaming testament of aluminum, was erected in 2008 by the Texas Historical Commission. It commemorates not just a cemetery, but a town lost to history. Alta Loma, meaning “High Land” in Spanish, was founded in 1893 by the Alta Loma Investment and Improvement Company. The plaque at Alta Loma Cemetery tells us that William Skirvin, buried within the cemetery’s grounds, led the first settlers to this new town in 1894. The investment company had the foresight to set aside land for a cemetery. It wasn’t until 1897, however, that the deed was officially presented to the town. That same year, the infant son of the Stobart family became the first soul laid to rest in Alta Loma Cemetery. The cemetery quickly became the final resting place for the area’s earliest settlers. Longhorn cattle ranchers, residents of neighboring communities, and prominent figures in business and community leadership were buried here. Immigrants seeking new beginnings, teachers shaping young minds, preachers offering spiritual guidance, and veterans of conflicts from World War I onward all found their final peace in Alta Loma Cemetery. The Alta Loma Cemetery Association, formed in 1904, continues to care for this hallowed ground. The cemetery itself showcases a variety of burial traditions. Curbed plots, vertical stones, false crypts, simple grave slabs, and expressive statuary dot the landscape, each a silent marker of a life lived. In 1978, the city of Santa Fe absorbed Alta Loma into its boundaries. The town itself may be gone, but the Alta Loma Cemetery, marked by the prominent plaque, remains. It serves as a poignant reminder of a community that once thrived, a testament to the pioneering spirit of those who built it. The Alta Loma Cemetery Plaque invites us to remember Alta Loma, not as a ghost town, but as a vibrant piece of Texas history.