Oak Hill Cemetery is a

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

located in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, United States. It was listed as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2013. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 17 resources, which included 13

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, one

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, two

contributing structures In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, and one

contributing object In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

History

Cedar Rapids was platted on the east bank of the Cedar River as Rapids City in 1841, and it was incorporated in 1849. The first burials in the town were in what was called the village cemetery. It was located at what is now Eighth Street and Fifth Avenue SE. Oak Hill Cemetery was established as Rose Hill, also known as Mount Washington, in 1853 on farmland outside of town that belonged to Gabriel Carpenter and Freeman Smith. The graves in the village cemetery were relocated here. They include some of the founders of Cedar Rapids.

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

landscape architect Horace W.S. Cleveland was employed in 1869 and again in 1880 to prepare a plan for cemetery improvements giving it a rural picturesque landscape design. The Cedar Rapids architectural firm of

Josselyn & Taylor Josselyn & Taylor was an architectural firm in Iowa. Eugene Hartwell Taylor (1853–1924) was associated with the firm from 1882 to 1924. Taylor was an 1876 graduate of Grinnell College and also studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technolog ...

designed the main entryway on the northwest corner of the cemetery in 1908 as a memorial to Lawson Daniels. It is composed of a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

-roofed shelter house, rustic stone walls and gateposts of cut glacial boulders, and decorative iron gates. Landscape architect, Ossian C. Simonds was hired in 1911 to redesign a portion of the cemetery's landscape. The buildings that contribute to the historic nature of the cemetery include the caretaker's house and garage, the barn, the gateway shelter house, and nine mausoleums. The contributing structures include the stone walls and gateposts. The contributing objects include gravestones and monuments that are counted as a single object. The designed landscape is the contributing site.

Notable burials

* Charles A. Clark, Civil War

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient * Edgar E. Clark, Grand Senior Conductor of the

Order of Railway Conductors The Order of Railway Conductors of America (ORC) was a labor union that represented train conductors in the United States. It has its origins in the Conductors Union founded in 1868. Later it extended membership to brakemen. In 1969 the ORC merg ...

and

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

commissioner * Walter Donald Douglas, businessman who died in the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' disaster * John Ely, state-level politician instrumental in abolishing capital punishment in Iowa * John Taylor Hamilton,

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

1891-1893 * George Greene,

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

justice *

Henry Otis Pratt Henry Otis Pratt (February 11, 1838 – May 22, 1931) was an American lawyer, Methodist Episcopal minister, and two-term Republican U.S. representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district. Early life and education Born in Dover-Foxcroft, M ...

, United States House of Representatives 1873-1877

References

{{NRHP in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Historic districts in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Geography of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Rural cemeteries