Tyler, Texas: Grave of Shorty the Squirrel (Gone)
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Directions:
- Shorty's headstone has moved around over the years, but it's never forgotten. At last report it was in the outside courtyard of courthouse, but may be in a raised planter at the southeast corner of Courthouse Square, NW corner of W. Erwin St. and N. Broadway Ave.
- Hours:
- Removed in 2024.
- Status:
- Gone
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Shorty lived outside of the Smith County courthouse for 15 years. He was a panhandler and a beggar, but adopted by the town.
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Shorty has been exhumed and his gravestone removed for downtown renovations. A statue will be erected to him in the future.
[Tamara Rice, 09/10/2025]Shorty's marker was replaced several years ago by the owner of the square, Smith County, not the City of Tyler. The marker is still there and in good condition. It's located in a raised planter at the southeast corner of the square. It has been well-anchored into the ground to prevent theft. Many of the older Courthouse "regulars" still remember Shorty.
[Bill McGinnis, County Commissioner, 10/14/2008]
The City of Tyler, in order to please its squirrel-lovers, has finally replaced the gravestone of Shorty the Squirrel. It can be found in a flowerbed in the town square directly across the street from the Smith County Courthouse. As a citizen of Tyler, I am glad it is here and hope that it is not stolen again by another village idiot.
[J.R. Garen, 11/06/2006]They have "re-done" the gravestone of Shorty the Squirrel, it is right under a tree in Tyler Square at the center of town, Nothing too fancy but it does exist.
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Diggers found "a lack of squirrel bones" beneath Shorty's small tombstone, leading to speculation that Shorty, who died in 1963, had accidentally been dug up some time in the 1980s.