Van Winkle Cemetery

This burial ground has served the residents of Climax since the mid-1800s. The Climax community dates to 1851, when Williams Warden, a farmer from Missouri, settled here with his family. The rural community grew and by the 1890s, it had two cotton gins, a grain elevator, a school, a church, a blacksmith shop and a general store. Most residents of the community were farmers who established small, family-owned farms that produced mostly wheat and corn. Climax reached its peak population around 1910, when about 100 residents lived here. Afterwards, the settlement declined, though it continued to serve as a retail point for local farmers into the late 1960s. This cemetery is named for David Van Winkle, who surveyed property lines in the area around Climax; the Texas government compensated him with land, a small portion of which became the Van Winkle Cemetery. The earliest marked grave here is of M.L. Warnburg (d. 1867), an infant. However, there are multiple unmarked graves in the cemetery, and oral tradition states that the earliest interment was of a slave. Other individuals interred here include Abraham Recer (d. 1870), who built and operated a toll bridge that crossed Sister Grove Creek, and W.K. Long (d. 1932), a local business owner. Van Winkle Cemetery also contains graves of military veterans. Features include vertical stones, obelisks and curbing. In 1974, the Van Winkle Cemetery foundation organized to care for the burial ground. Additional property was added in 1976 and 2007. Today, Van Winkle Cemetery continues to serve the residents of the Climax community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2008

Van Winkle Cemetery is a historical marker in Princeton, Collin County, dedicated in 2009. It is one of 186 historical markers documented in Collin County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 319 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.1989, -96.4510 near Princeton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Pleasant Grove Cemetery (historical marker), about 0.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include Verona Cemetery, Princeton Cemetery, and Site of World War II Prisoner of War Camp.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507015911. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.