Jack Bonham Moore

January 18, 1919, Marshall, Texas

March 15, 1969, Hugo Oklahoma

The Big Top-shaped gray granite monument in the Showmen’s Rest section of the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma, commemorates the grave of the Carson and Barnes Circus owner, Jack Bonham Moore.

Jack and his wife, Angela, trained animals and would present their animal acts after a movie showing.  Later the animal act became Tex Carson’s Jamboree and Wild Animal Show. 

In the early 50s, Moore formed a partnership with circus owner D. R. Miller.  Moore leased tents, equipment, and animals creating a circus that became the Carson and Barnes Circus.  This circus was a massive operation requiring a fleet of trucks to transport the equipment and animals from one location to the next.  The five-ring circus traveled around twenty states and had up to nearly 60 elephants in their circus in its heyday.

The Big Top monument and the elephant-topped Showmen’s Rest markers designating the special section for circus owners, performers, concession stand managers, and ride operators are perfect for a person who had dedicated his career in the circus.