Dibrell Cemetery as it is today.

In the early 1990's I made a trip to Oklahoma to fing my ancestors in the Dibrell Cemetery. I was blown away by the story I was told about the old tombstones.
The land owners property backs up to the Red River and a huge gully. I was told that the land owner used the tombstones to fill in the washout. I do not know if this story is true but there's only this marker and one other that I could locate on this spot.

Dibrell Cemetery. Photo Apr 2012 by Maren Schouw Fuller, daughter of Gloria Reck. This rough concrete monument erected 1972 (& 1979) by Harrell Lindsey McCullough, Tim Lindsey and other Lindsey cousins. Originally seen 1948 by McCullough, who recorded the few tombstones still legible; by 1960 almost all tombstones broken/damaged by cattle and scattered. A local farmer then pirated all stones and used them to shore up a creek. McCullough and cousins, in heavy rains, with minimal equipment, in 1972 erected a crude but permanent concrete marker. (The Old Cloud Trail went from Texas, past Gainesville & across Red River, by Ike Cloud's ranch, thru Indian Terr. up to Baxter Springs, Kansas.) Mrs. Cloud's three Dibrell brothers operated the Ranch after Ike Cloud died 1865; thus the name "Dibrell." Some tombstones were legible in 1948 but were damaged by cattle or missing by 1960; by 1970 only a few scattered remnants remained, most were missing entirely. McCullough tried to preserve the site. Gloria Reck, Eureka, CA, July 2014.

Dibrell Cemetery (abandoned), SW of Leon, Love Co. OK. Photo taken April 2012 by Maren Schouw Fuller, daughter of Gloria Reck. This large concrete block monument, inscribed for Burkett Battle Lindsey (1823-1880) and Isaac Newton Miller (1816-1888), was erected in 1972 by Harrell Lindsey McCullough, Tim Lindsey and other Lindsey family members; a few broken, scattered tombstones nearby were placed on top so they could be preserved from further vandalism. Gloria Reck, Eureka, CA. 17 July 2014.

Dibrell Cemetery, Love Co. OK. (Looking northward.) The abandoned cemetery is to the left, among the trees which are inside a wire fence. Photo April 2012 by Maren Schouw Fuller, daughter of Gloria Reck. Actual location of Dibrell is about 2.25 mi. south and 1.25 mi. west of Leon, Love Co. OK, in S2 of SE4 of NE4 of SW4, Section 19, T8S, R2W. (Cemetery is NOT shown on "1964 Leon South," Tex-Okla 7.5' U.S. Geological Survey map, which covers Section 19.) Gloria Reck, Eureka, CA, 17 July 2014.

Dibrell Cemetery, Love Co. OK, April 2012, by Maren Schouw Fuller. A partial inscription on the small headstone shown to the left, with the top portion missing (inside the retaining cable) is entirely illegible. Gloria Reck, 17 July 2014.

2021