Date: June 29, 2001
Cemetery:
Riddle-Worrell Cemetery
Established: Not sure
Street: Wilmoth Road, Pleasant Hill, MO Cass County, MO. Section 24,
Township 46, Range 30.
Type: Road-public
City: Pleasant Hill, MO approximately 4 miles east of town
Township: Polk
County: Cass
State: MO
Nation:
Zip: 64080
Nearby: 58 Highway east of Pleasant Hill, turn on Beattie Road , then turn on
Wilmoth Road, east side of road.
Location: Rural-mixed
Land: Flat
Watersource: No
Features: Overgrown and hidden by brush.
Sign: No
Land_Type: Private
Access: Permission-required
Enclosure: Fence-Broken
Gate: None
Status: Abandoned
Size: Small
Gravestones: 7
Oldest: 1857
Newest: 18857
Unmarked: Yes
Broken: Yes
Toppled: Yes
Buried: Yes
Removed: Unknown
Weather_problems: Unknown
Pollution_problems: No
Association: Unsure
Records: Unsure
Inventory: Yes
Records_location: Cemetery was indexed 1968 by the Pleasant Hill Historical
Society. Listed in the Burial Sites and Cemeteries of Polk Township, Cass County,
Missouri, through the Cass County Historical Society, Inc. 400 East Mechanic
Harrisonville, MO 64701 Book was published in 1984.
Condition: Cemetery poorly maintained
Vandalized: Yes
Police_report: No
VA: Gravestones-Overturned
VA: Gravestones-Broken
VA: Gravestones-Stolen
VA: Graves-Desecrated
Overgrowth: Graves-Disturbing
Overgrowth: Gravestones-Disturbing
Overgrowth: Gravestones-Damaging
Vegetation: Trees
Vegetation: Ground-Cover
Vegetation: Moss
Vegetation: Vines
Drainage: Good
Problem: Restricted access
Problem8 Disintegrating Headstones
Restoration: No work started as of yet
Owner: Unknown
Use: Agricultural
Bordering: Agricultural
Change: Unknown
Reason:
Visited: Unknown
Archeology: Unknown
Contacted: Cass County Historical Society, with regard to getting access to the
property. Property owners DO NOT want anyone out there. They have only lived
there 8 years and I was the first person to ask to see the cemetery.
Other_Information
I was shocked at how bad of shape the cemetery was in. It's
evident that no one had been there for a long time. However, the current property owners
have young children and there were 2 2x4's propped up against the largest tombstone where
they had tried to get the top of the tombstone back on it's base. It had fallen, not sure
how. You had to get down on your knees and spread apart the brush just to look for the
grave sites. There were 2 grave sites that had Masonic emblems on them and one grave had
been opened. I understand it's a small cemetery but I just couldn't believe that it was in
such horrible shape. It's a disgrace! The current property owners are VERY uncooperative
and only allowed me about an hour to index the cemetery. They even brought along their
Rottweiler just so we would hurry up! I would like to know if there are any laws that
would require the current property owners to clean up and repair and maintain this
cemetery. I am also worried that they may even destroy it further.
Support
Cass County Historical Society, 400 East Mechanic, Harrisonville,
MO 64701
Submitted by:
name: Teresa Rogers
Email: BEG349@aol.com
