Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Basinger, on the Okeechobee side of the Kissimmee River, was the beginning of present-day Okeechobee County. The first non-native settlers moved to the Basinger area after the Civil War. Many of the pioneers who moved to the area during the 1870s and 1880s were involved in the beef cattle industry, and the lush grasslands of the Kissimmee River valley offered new grazing land for their herds. By the turn of the 20th century, the area was a bustling cowboy community. The first person buried in the Basinger Cemetery was Noel Rabun Raulerson III, son of Noel Jr., and grandson of Rabun Raulerson. After Noel Rabun’s death at age 24 in 1895, his father gave the land around his son’s grave to the community for use as a cemetery. The land was deeded to "The Cemetery of the Methodist Episcopal Church South of Bassenger," dated September 3, 1896, but later it became the property of Okeechobee County. Early settlers to the area included the Alderman, Campbell, Chandler, Durrance, Holmes, Lofton, Parker, Raulerson, Thomas, Underhill, and Walker families. Settlers on the Highlands County side included the Daughtrey and Pearce families. Many members of these pioneer families and their descendants are interred here.