Billed as the “Birthplace to all Chile Cookoffs”, the ghost town of Terlingua is located about five miles west of Study Butte on Highway 170 – near the west entrance to Big Bend National Park. At first glance the town doesn’t look like it has much to offer in the way of a quirky roadside attraction, as the main drag is lined with a saloon or two, a number of galleries, and the odd souvenir shop here and there. That said the Terlingua Cemetery is reason enough to make the short detour out to this ghost town.
Located on the west edge of town – if you hit the “Welcome to Terlingua” sign, turn around as you’ve passed it – you’ll find this hidden gem on the right as you leave town. There’s a large level dirt parking area near the cemetery entrance, with room enough to park an adapted van. The cemetery – which was founded in 1902 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places – is fairly level, although there are narrow spots and some bumpy pathways between the plots. That said, it’s worth a stop here, even if you can’t maneuver past the first row of graves, simply because of the the way the gravesites are adorned with all sorts of candles, fetishes, charms and other unique offerings.
The entrance pillars also have niches filled with everything from coins and candy, to bottle caps, rocks, shells, photos and even the odd personal item – like a make-up brush – here and there. An excellent spot for photographers, this site gets more interesting in October, as the Day of the Dead nears, and all sorts of new objects begin to appear. As an added bonus, there’s also a good view of the town ruins from the cemetery parking area.
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.
Other miners suffered “salivation”, a form of mercury poisoning in which inhaled fumes from the smelting process stimulated the secretion of saliva, causing the teeth to loosen and fall out. Beyond mining fatalities, the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 helped fill the cemetery as well. Despite its grim roots, the Terlingua cemetery offers a compelling glance into the region’s past where makeshift graves and folk art dominate the memorials. Each year, during the traditional Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, the Terlingua cemetery transforms into a colorful array of florals, candles, and paper streamers, all set against the stunning one hundred-mile view of the Chisos Mountains and the Sierra del Carmens beyond.
