History

The Gruesome History Behind Baby Head Cemetery

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Baby Head Cemetery can be found approximately 10 miles north of Llano, in the Texas Hill Country. It’s the only thing remaining in the area that marks where a flourishing 19th-century town once stood. The story behind its spooky moniker is said to have its origins in the finding of an infant’s skull on the very same land (also referred to as Baby Head Mountain).

The town which developed at the site in the late 1800s grew to house a few businesses, a post office, and a school. However, by 1968, there were only 20 residents remaining. Sadly (as well as quite eerily),  the only thing left behind to ever indicate its existence is a historical marker and Baby Head Cemetery. In 2019, it was included in a list of cemeteries in this great state of ours that is considered to be haunted. But one could only prove that with an actual visit!

The Gruesome History Behind Baby Head Cemetery

Photo: @michaelsquared via Twenty20

Depending on who’s telling the tale, sometime between the 1850s and 1870s, a group of Native Americans kidnapped a young girl from a local family in an effort to scare off the encroaching settlers. The details appear to be somewhat sketchy, but shared by Atlasobscura.com, the story goes that the girl was killed, and that it was her head (placed on a stake at the foot of the mountain) that resulted in the grim title that both the mountain and the town took on. Over time, with the diminishing population, the name was abandoned, and the town’s small population became a part of the city of Llano.

Today, all that remains of the settlement is Baby Head Cemetery. It’s the final resting place for a few dozen, with some being as recent as the year 2000. Although the cemetery is still visited by those in mourning of loved ones, paying them care and attention after they’ve passed, it’s not uncommon to see baby doll heads hanging from the sign.