Spindletop Cemetery
Also known as Rinker Cemetery
Cherry Township, Montgomery County, Kansas, USA
Spindletop Cemetery is in Cherry Township, rural Cherryvale, Montgomery County, Kansas. Drive about one mile north of Cherryvale on US-169, and then turn left on CR 5500 and drive about ½ mile. The cemetery sits on the left. It is a small rural cemetery with less than 25 known graves.
It was initially known as Rinker Cemetery until about 1903 when oil was found on the nearby Matt Blaes land. The area became known as Spindletop Hill, named after the Texas gusher "Spindletop". It was around that time the cemetery became known as Spindletop Cemetery.
There were two Rinker brothers living close to each other in Cherry Township. The cemetery land was given by the elder brother, Samuel Henry Rinker (1833-1880), and his wife, Mary Ann (Pinkerton) Rinker (1831-1904). The second to youngest of their nine children, Price Rinker (1870-1870) was the first buried in the cemetery in an unmarked grave in June 1870.
The oldest headstone in Rinker Cemetery was for Samuel Heaton (1841-17 July 1870).
The earliest settlers in the area came in 1869, and Price Rinker's burial in mid-June 1870 indicates this may be the oldest cemetery in the county.
The largest family plot, of eight burials, is the for family of Noah D. Phares (1822-1893) and Catherine "Kate" (Phares) Phares (1825-1874), whose 1869 sandstone house still stands about ½ mile east and one mile north of the cemetery.
Over time the cemetery was lost to overgrowth. Led by the efforts of Joe Shepherd in 1994, the cemetery was reclaimed and a driveway into the cemetery was added.
Spindletop Cemetery is in Cherry Township, rural Cherryvale, Montgomery County, Kansas. Drive about one mile north of Cherryvale on US-169, and then turn left on CR 5500 and drive about ½ mile. The cemetery sits on the left. It is a small rural cemetery with less than 25 known graves.
It was initially known as Rinker Cemetery until about 1903 when oil was found on the nearby Matt Blaes land. The area became known as Spindletop Hill, named after the Texas gusher "Spindletop". It was around that time the cemetery became known as Spindletop Cemetery.
There were two Rinker brothers living close to each other in Cherry Township. The cemetery land was given by the elder brother, Samuel Henry Rinker (1833-1880), and his wife, Mary Ann (Pinkerton) Rinker (1831-1904). The second to youngest of their nine children, Price Rinker (1870-1870) was the first buried in the cemetery in an unmarked grave in June 1870.
The oldest headstone in Rinker Cemetery was for Samuel Heaton (1841-17 July 1870).
The earliest settlers in the area came in 1869, and Price Rinker's burial in mid-June 1870 indicates this may be the oldest cemetery in the county.
The largest family plot, of eight burials, is the for family of Noah D. Phares (1822-1893) and Catherine "Kate" (Phares) Phares (1825-1874), whose 1869 sandstone house still stands about ½ mile east and one mile north of the cemetery.
Over time the cemetery was lost to overgrowth. Led by the efforts of Joe Shepherd in 1994, the cemetery was reclaimed and a driveway into the cemetery was added.
Nearby cemeteries
Cherryvale, Montgomery County, Kansas, USA
- Total memorials170
- Percent photographed92%
- Percent with GPS59%
Cherryvale, Montgomery County, Kansas, USA
- Total memorials7k+
- Percent photographed91%
- Percent with GPS32%
Cherryvale, Montgomery County, Kansas, USA
- Total memorials605
- Percent photographed95%
- Percent with GPS5%
Montgomery County, Kansas, USA
- Total memorials33
- Percent photographed100%
- Percent with GPS0%
- Added: 10 Feb 2010
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2341347
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