Inge Johnsson Photography

Terlingua Cemetery

The small cemetery located along the downhill slope of the Terlingua Ghost Town, a formerly abandoned quicksilver mining camp turned tourist destination and residential community for desert dwellers, may be one of the most photographed cemeteries in Texas. No larger-than-life marble angels grace the gravesites here. Instead, modest filigree crosses, simple stonework, and small grottoes with hand-made embellishments highlight this historic burial spot, final resting place for miners who succumbed while digging for the highly toxic rare earth element known as mercury. This tiny site, just over one acre, contains marked graves beginning in 1903, the year mercury mining production in this region began. Unsurprisingly, fatal mining accidents occurred with some regularity, particularly in light of the inadequate ventilation and lack of modern mining equipment.

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Filename: TerlinguaCemetery1.jpg
Copyright: Copyright for these photos belongs solely to Inge Johnsson. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Image Size: 5760x3840 / 3.0MB; America American Big Bend National Park NPS National Park North America Terilingua Texan Texas US USA United States architecture black & white cemetery cross crosses desert direction grave graves graveyard landscape monochromatic monochrome nature photo photography tombstone tombstones travel trip west western
Contained in galleries: Texas

The small cemetery located along the downhill slope of the Terlingua Ghost Town, a formerly abandoned quicksilver mining camp turned tourist destination and residential community for desert dwellers, may be one of the most photographed cemeteries in Texas. No larger-than-life marble angels grace the gravesites here. Instead, modest filigree crosses, simple stonework, and small grottoes with hand-made embellishments highlight this historic burial spot, final resting place for miners who succumbed while digging for the highly toxic rare earth element known as mercury. This tiny site, just over one acre, contains marked graves beginning in 1903, the year mercury mining production in this region began. Unsurprisingly, fatal mining accidents occurred with some regularity, particularly in light of the inadequate ventilation and lack of modern mining equipment.