If you enjoy the obscure, Oklahoma’s backroads are the home of some of the countries more interesting obscurities. From geocache sites documenting outlaws to field of unique art, Oklahoma has more than enough intrigue to keep you driving around the state in search of your next big discovery.
But Granite, Oklahoma has one of the more unique locations to visit in terms of the obscure, a fake comical cemetery!
Yes, you read that correctly, Fake Comical Cemetery! Its name the Comecos Cemetery.
Located in Southwestern Oklahoma and down a small dirt based street, the town of Granite might seem the least likely location for finding a huge granite wall with the likeness of Roy Rogers, but if you look beyond the wall, which in itself is a unique site to be seen, you will find at its base a cemetery filled with tombstones placed a bit to close for comfort compared to a regular cemetery.
It looks like your average cemetery from a distance. A gate opens at its front, a fence borders it on all sides and inside the stones look as though they come from a variety of different styles and years. But upon more careful evaluation, the stones bare sentiments befitting a comedy show instead of a cemetery.
John McDonald can be “found” centrally in the cemetery with the epithet:
John McDonald 1898-1959 “Here I lie between two of the best women in the world, my Wives, But I told my relatives to tilt me toward Tillie.”
Another for Penelope Prichard shaped as a piano resting at the front of the cemetery reads:
Penelope Prichard 1900-1944 “Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depend on how you play it.”
And as you progress through reading each stone you might be surprised at the levels of comical sarcasm they have engraved upon them from “I told you I was sick” to “Here lies John Yeast, pardon me for not rising.”
This cemetery based on humor was originally created by Texas veterinarian Dan and wife Eleanor Roberts of Texas. They had a unique sense of humor and love for some of the strange quotes found on the stones you see now in Oklahoma. Although the cemetery was originally placed in Wichita Falls, Texas it later moved to Iowa Park, Texas before finally coming to its final resting place in Granite, Oklahoma in 2004.
Apparently it is much easier to move a fake cemetery than a real one.
But why did it find its final home in Granite? The stones within the fake comical cemetery all originated from this area. In fact, just a short distance from its official location you will find a business which creates real headstones for families. It was here that the granite stones found in the Comecos Cemetery were milled originally an etched with their clever phrases and quotes, so it seems only fitting they return.