Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Parkway Bakery and Tavern has been slinging these sandwiches since 1929.
Parkway Bakery and Tavern
Front view of Lincoln’s Cottage.
President Lincoln’s Cottage
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Parkside Plum Juice
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Parkway Bakery and Tavern has been slinging these sandwiches since 1929.
Parkway Bakery and Tavern
Parkside Plum Juice
Dishes at Aksorn are grounded in deep historical research.
Aksorn
Thailand’s hot, humid climate meant that customers wanted an alternative to hot tea.
ChaTraMue
Order a flight of infused ya dong shots.
Tep Bar
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
You could probably take some of that stuff out.
Dear Atlas: How Do I Pack Light for a Long Trip?
1 day ago
Ripples in the land are remnants of the field walls that once held rows of native sugarcane and sweet potatoes.
Unearthing the Mysteries of Hawai'i's Ancient Agriculture
2 days ago
Petrified Forest National Park.
Beware the Legends Behind These National Park Souvenirs
5 days ago
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Texas Llano Baby Head Cemetery

Baby Head Cemetery

This grimly-titled Texas cemetery is all that remains of a Wild West settlement with possibly the worst name.

Llano, Texas

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Baby Head Cemetery   Nicolas Henderson on Flickr
Baby Head Cemetery   Nicolas Henderson on Flickr
Baby Head Cemetery   Mike Fisher on Flickr
Baby Head Cemetery   Nicolas Henderson on Flickr
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  cgfranklin68 / Atlas Obscura User
Oldest grave in Babyhead  
Baby Head Cemetery   italyanastacia / Atlas Obscura User
Point of interest Baby Head Cemetery   italyanastacia / Atlas Obscura User
across the road from the site   chateauesque / Atlas Obscura User
October 2019   chateauesque / Atlas Obscura User
October 2019   chateauesque / Atlas Obscura User
October 2019   chateauesque / Atlas Obscura User
  megancvetech / Atlas Obscura User
Oldest recorded marker (photo taken 7/23/2020)   hollypromos / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Sitting near a mountain that once shared its bizarre name, the Baby Head Cemetery is the final remnant of an entire community that based its name on a grisly atrocity for some reason. 

As the story goes, it was sometime around the 1850s or 1870s, depending on who you talk to, that a group of American Indians, looking to scare off the encroaching white settlers, kidnapped a young girl from one of the families. The girl was supposedly killed and her head placed on a pike at the foot of what was almost instantly dubbed "Babyhead Mountain." While the exact details of this tale differ, the name of the mountain stuck, and when a community began to grow in the area near the turn of the century, it too became known as Baby Head.

The tiny town of Baby Head grew to a respectable size, establishing a post office, a school, a courthouse, and multiple businesses. However, as time went on the seemingly promising community began to dwindle, dropping to a small rural settlement with a population of about 20 people. It is not known if this was the result of being named Baby Head. Eventually the name was abandoned and the remaining population was absorbed into the city of Llano, Texas.

Today the only remnant of the Baby Head settlement is this small cemetery which still bears the name, in possibly its grimmest association yet. The graveyard contains a few dozen graves, with some burials as recent as 2000. A historic marker has been placed at the edge of the cemetery, and it is not uncommon to see baby doll heads hanging from the sign.

Related Tags

Cemeteries Wild West Graveyards

Know Before You Go

There are two historical marker signs: one is 1 mile before and the second is as you approach the cemetery on the other side of the road. There is a small gravel pull-off where you can park off of the road. There is no accessing the actual cemetery, as there are no trespassing signs posted on the fences, but you can see the cemetery behind the historical marker sign.

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

ionaswitchblade, Soozcat, chateauesque, italyanastacia...

  • ionaswitchblade
  • Soozcat
  • chateauesque
  • italyanastacia
  • megancvetech
  • hollypromos
  • SemiruralYeti
  • cgfranklin68
  • brendabeggio
  • starseedsam

Published

November 20, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.texfiles.com/texashistory/babyhead.htm
  • http://www.cemeteries-of-tx.com/Wtx/Llano/cemetery/BabyHead.html
  • http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/htb01
Baby Head Cemetery
Baby Head Cemetery
Llano, Texas, 78643
United States
30.887605, -98.656111
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Old Bluffton Underwater Ghost Town

Burnet, Texas

miles away

Longhorn Cavern

Burnet, Texas

miles away

Enchanted Rock

Fredericksburg, Texas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Texas

Texas

United States

Places 378
Stories 64

Nearby Places

Old Bluffton Underwater Ghost Town

Burnet, Texas

miles away

Longhorn Cavern

Burnet, Texas

miles away

Enchanted Rock

Fredericksburg, Texas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Texas

Texas

United States

Places 378
Stories 64

Related Places

  • Wickenburg, Arizona

    Henry Wickenburg Pioneer Cemetery

    This tucked-away cemetery is the final resting place of a prospector who uncovered one of the largest gold mines in Arizona.

  • Silver City Cemetery Landmark.

    Eureka, Utah

    Silver City Cemetery

    These headstones and a few stone foundations are all that remain of a once-booming mining town.

  • Ehrenberg Pioneer Cemetery.

    Ehrenberg, Arizona

    Ehrenberg Pioneer Cemetery

    The stone-covered graves lie within the ruins of an Old West ghost town.

  • The grave.

    El Paso, Texas

    John Wesley Hardin's Grave

    A prison-like structure guards the remains of a notorious Old West outlaw.

  • Cemetery entrance

    Astoria, Oregon

    Hillside Cemetery

    This graveyard is the eternal home of many brave pioneers who settled the Great Northwest.

  • Tilden, Texas

    Boot Hill Cemetery

    "They died with their boots on."

  • Boothill Cemetery.

    Tombstone, Arizona

    Boothill Graveyard

    A wild west cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, provides a window into the Old West.

  • “ANDREAS MORGENRØDT – Time Traveller – 1996–2064”

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    The Time Traveler's Grave

    Hidden in plain sight, a gravestone seemingly inscribed from the future stands among the cemetery’s historic tombs.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.