Originally a part of the James West Survey, this cemetery dates to the early 1860s. The land was later owned by Mrs. Frances Ann Dyer (d.1890), and upon her death was inherited by her daughter Udora Dyer Ratcliff (1862-1898) and son-in-law K. R. Ratcliff (1857-1946). Although local oral tradition holds that the earliest burials here were those of area Indians or slaves from the Salem community, the oldest documented graves are those of John G. Barnett (1799-1861) and his wife Christina (1817-1863). Also interred in this cemetery are Frances Ann Dyer, although her grave is not marked, and K. R. and Udora Dyer Ratcliff. Six Civil War veterans (Andrew Jackson Herrin, Stephen B. Herrin, William Henry Jarvis Holmes, Thomas Harrison Holmes, Jeremiah Patrick O' Brien, and J. R. Sise) are buried here, as are veterans of World War I, World War II, and Korea.
The Trout Creek Cemetery Association, whose members have cared for the historic graveyard since the turn of the century, was officially chartered in 1973. An important part of Newton County history, the Trout Creek Cemetery stands as a reminder of the area's pioneer heritage.(1989)