Oakdale Memorial Gardens, formerly Oakdale Cemetery, is located in east-central

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

. It contains a section for the burial of pets called the Love of Animals Petland. In 2015, the cemetery was listed as an

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 ...

, and as a local landmark on the

Davenport Register of Historic Properties This is a list of the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The historic preservation movement began in the city of Davenport in the mid-1970s with the renovation of several historic structures. A comprehens ...

. (Click on "Historic Preservation Commission" and then click on "Davenport Register of Historic Properties and Local Landmarks.") It is also listed on the Network to Freedom, a

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

registry for sites associated with the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

History

Oakdale was established as a non-profit cemetery by a group of Davenport businessmen as an alternative to the overcrowded Davenport City Cemetery and the for-profit Pine Hill Cemetery. It was incorporated as the Oakdale Cemetery Company May 14, 1856. The cemetery board hired Captain George F. de la Roche, who had finished the design of Oak Hill Cemetery in

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five years earlier, to complete the design and platting of the cemetery. It was designed as a rural or garden cemetery, but it transitioned to a landscape-lawn cemetery beginning in the late 19th century. It covers more than . The first numbered burial at Oakdale was that of three-month-old Mary Larned Allen on September 15, 1857, though several earlier burials were recorded at a later date, some from as early as October, 1855. Some of the graves in the cemetery had been transferred from the overcrowded City Cemetery in the west end. The cemetery is located across Eastern Avenue from the former

Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home The Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, also known at the Annie Wittenmyer Home or the Annie Wittenmyer Center, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States is a former orphanage for children. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties a ...

, and it contains the graves of the orphans that died at the home. There are also at least 11 graves of former slaves who escaped to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad, which led to its inclusion on the Network to Freedom. Two special receiving vaults were built in the cemetery, although neither exists anymore. A brick vault was constructed in 1873 for those who died in the winter when the ground was frozen. A wooden vault was built next to it in 1918 because of the large number of deaths as a result of the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

epidemic.

Architecture

The cemetery entrance is marked by a set of monumental gates, designed in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style by Davenport architect

Edward Hammatt Edward Hammatt (September 8, 1856 – August 24, 1907) was an architect in the United States. He designed several notable buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Biography Edward Seymour Hammatt was born in ...

in 1895. Construction of the gates was completed in 1896. The cemetery is also home to several private mausoleums. William D. Petersen was the son of J.H.C. Petersen who founded a department store in Davenport that has become Von Maur. He also was responsible for the development of the city's riverfront and built the

LeClaire Park Bandshell The W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion, commonly referred to as the LeClaire Park Bandshell, is located on Beiderbecke Drive in LeClaire Park, Davenport, Iowa. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenpor ...

there. His mausoleum was designed in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by Davenport architects Rudolph Clausen & Walter Kruse. It was inspired by his wife Sara's desire for a tomb similar to the ones she saw in Europe. It was constructed by Presbrey Leland of

Valhalla, New York Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name was in ...

in 1921 for $60,000. The exterior is composed of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. The interior features crypts that were carved from Greek

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

and a ceramic tile ceiling that was designed and completed by the Guastavino Tile Company of

Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...

. Joseph W. Bettendorf was an industrialist for whom the city of

Bettendorf, Iowa Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport– Moline– Rock Island, IA- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popu ...

is named. His mausoleum was built in 1923 in the

Egyptian Revival Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat ...

style for $150,000. Its exterior is composed of Barre Granite from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. The interior features crypts carved from white marble and Egyptian-inspired stained glass windows. The mausoleum built for Johannna Schricker, widow of Davenport lumber magnate Lorenzo Schricker, was designed in the Neoclassical style by Davenport architect John W. Ross. It was built by the

Vermont Marble Company The Vermont Marble Museum or Vermont Marble Exhibit is a museum commemorating the contributions of Vermont marble and the Vermont Marble Company, located in Proctor, Vermont, United States. The museum is located in a wing of one of the former Verm ...

in 1899 at a cost of $6,489. The inspiration for the structure was the North Portico of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

in Washington, D.C. Its exterior is composed of Sutherland Falls white marble and features a bronze roof supplied by the Winslow Brothers of

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

. Oakdale Cemetery W. D.Petersen mausoleum.jpg, W.D. Petersen mausoleum Bettendorf mausoleum.jpg, Bettendorf mausoleum Oakdale Cemetery J. Schricker Mausoleum.jpg, J. Schricker mausoleum Oakdale Cemetery Brandt mausoleum.jpg, Brandt mausoleum Gardiner mausoleum.jpg, Gardiner mausoleum Hartwig vault.jpg, Hartwig vault Hill mausoleum.jpg, Hill mausoleum Oakdale Cemetery Koehler Mausoleum.jpg, Koehler mausoleum Nott mausoleum.jpg, Nott mausoleum HF Petersen mausoleum.jpg, H.F. Petersen mausoleum Ruch mausoleum.jpg, Ruch mausoleum Oakdale Cemetery Schlapp columbarium.jpg, Schlapp columbarium Sieg mausoleum.jpg, Sieg mausoleum Wilson mausoleum.jpg, Wilson mausoleum

Soldiers' Lot

There is a Soldiers' Lot near the center of the cemetery, which is administered by the

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

. At one time 174 soldiers were buried at Oakdale, including the first Iowans to die in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

at the

Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important ave ...

. Most of the bodies were transferred in 1888 to Rock Island National Cemetery or

Keokuk National Cemetery Keokuk National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Keokuk, Iowa, Keokuk in Lee County, Iowa. It encompasses , and as of 2021, had over 6,000 interments. It is administered by Rock Island National Cemetery. Histo ...

. The remaining 14 soldiers' graves were moved to the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

(GAR) plot in 1900. The plot was transferred from the GAR to the cemetery association in 1940 and the United States government took possession of it the following year. Today it contains the remains of 71 soldiers from the Civil War and

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

Notable burials

* Alfred T. Andreas (1839–1900), book publisher and historian *

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

(1903–1931) jazz musician * Joseph W. Bettendorf (1864–1933), co-founder of the Bettendorf Axel Company with his brother;

is named after him * William P. Bettendorf (1857–1910), inventor and co-founder of the Bettendorf Axel Company with his brother; Bettendorf, Iowa is named after him *

Henry Peter Bosse Henry Peter Bosse (1844–1903) was a German-American photographer, cartographer and civil engineer. Biography *1844: Henry Peter Bosse is born November 13 at his father's estate, Sonnedorf in Prussia ...

(1844–1903), photographer, cartographer and civil engineer *

Alice Braunlich Alice Freda Braunlich (February 1, 1888 – August 9, 1989) was an American classical philologist. Life Braunlich was born to parents of German extraction, Emilie Hedwig Hoering Braunlich and the physician Henry Uchtorf Braunlich, in Davenp ...

(1888–1989), professor and

classical philologist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and ot ...

* Frederick G. Clausen (1848–1940), architect; founder of oldest architectural firm in continuous existence in the state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

* Rudolph J. Clausen (1878–1961), architect; son and partner of Frederick G. Clausen * John Parsons Cook (1817–1872),

U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, 1853–1855 * Eloise Blaine Cram (1896–1957),

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it f ...

* George Henry Cram (1838–1872),

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Brevet Brigadier General * Ralph W. Cram (1869–1952), newspaper editor and aviator * Edward Savage Crossett (1828–1910), lumber baron *

John Forrest Dillon John Forrest Dillon (December 25, 1831 – May 6, 1914) was an attorney in Iowa and New York, a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court and a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit. He authored a highly ...

(1831–1914), Jurist who authored a judicial treatise that is now referred to as "Dillon's Law." * Nicholas Fejérváry (1811–1895) Hungarian nobleman * Alice French (1850–1934), author who wrote under the pseudonym Octave Thanet * James Grant (1812–1891), first president of the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

, Speaker of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

(1856–1907), architect * Rebecca J. Keck (1838–1904), physician and patent medicine entrepreneur * Joseph R. Lane (1858–1931),

, 1899–1901 *

Joseph Bloomfield Leake Joseph Bloomfield Leake (April 1, 1828 – June 8, 1913) was an attorney and an Iowa State Senator who entered the Union Army during the American Civil War. He became a Brevet Brigadier General before the war was over. After the war he became t ...

(1828–1918),

Brevet Brigadier General *

Henry Washington Lee Henry Washington Lee (July 29, 1815 – September 26, 1874) was a 19th-century bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He served as the first Bishop of Iowa from 1854–1874. He also served as Provisional Bisho ...

(1815–1874), first bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Iowa The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which covers all of Iowa. It is in Province VI. Its offices are in Des Moines, and it has two cathedrals: the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in ...

1854–1874 * John Fremont McCullough (1871–1963), co-founded

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...

* Paul Norton (1909–1984), watercolor artist * Ernest Carl Oberholtzer (1884–1977), explorer, author and conservationist * Dr.

Charles Christopher Parry Parry circa 1875 Charles Christopher Parry (August 28, 1823 – February 20, 1890) was a British-American botanist and mountaineer. Biography Parry was born in Gloucestershire, England, but moved to the United States with his parents in 1832, s ...

(1823–1890), botanist and mountaineer *

Hiram Price Hiram Price (January 10, 1814 – May 30, 1901) was a nineteenth-century banker, merchant, bookkeeper, bank president, railroad president, and five-term Republican congressman from Iowa's 2nd congressional district and as commissioner of In ...

(1814–1901),

, 1863–1869, 1877–1881; U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1881–1885 * John W. Ross (1830–1914), architect * Addison Hiatt Sanders (1823–1912),

Brevet Brigadier General *

Phebe Sudlow Phebe W. Sudlow (July 11, 1831 - June 8, 1922) was a pioneer for women in the education field and was the first female superintendent of a public school system in the United States. Sudlow also became the first female professor at the University o ...

(1831–1922), first female public school superintendent in the United States; first female professor at the University of Iowa * James Thorington (1816–1887),

, 1855–1857; Consul at Aspinwall,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, 1873–1882 * John Vale (1835–1909),

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 * Charles J. von Maur (1863–1926), department store chain co-founder Alfred Andreas grave.jpg, Alfred T. Andreas Bix_Beiderbecke_grave.jpg, Bix Beiderbecke Bettendorf Grave.jpg, Joseph W. Bettendorf Bettendorf Grave 2.jpg, William P. Bettendorf Henry Peter Bosse grave.jpg, Henry Peter Bosse Parke T. Burrows grave.jpg, Parke T. Burrows Ebenezer and Clarissa Cook graves.jpg, Clarissa and Ebenezer Cook Edward Crossett grave.jpg, Edward Savage Crossett Edward Hammatt grave.jpg, Edward Hammatt Bishop Henry Washington Lee grave at Oakdale Cemetery 01.jpg, Bishop Henry Washington Lee Charles Christopher Parry grave.jpg, Charles Christopher Parry Hiram Price grave.jpg, Hiram Price Phebe Sudlow Grave.jpg, Phebe Sudlow John Vale grave at Oakdale Cemetery.jpg, John Vale Von Maur graves.jpg, Von Maur family

References

External links

* * * * {{Davenport Register of Historic Properties Geography of Davenport, Iowa Cemeteries in the Quad Cities Protected areas of Scott County, Iowa Historic American Landscapes Survey in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic districts in Davenport, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Davenport Register of Historic Properties United States national cemeteries