Oaklands 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 ...

founded in 1854 in

West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania West Goshen Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 23,040 at the 2020 census. In 2013, ''Money Magazine'' voted West Goshen as the 10th best place to live in America. West Goshen has also been ra ...

. It is located at 1042 Pottstown Pike and is approximately in size.

Description and history

The Oaklands Cemetery was founded in response to the borough council's closure of graveyards within the borders of West Chester and the discontinuation of future burials allowed within it. The ordinance passed on July 21, 1851, and had an effective date of August 20, most likely in reaction to recent cholera epidemics. The

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

passed and Governor William F. Johnston approved an act to incorporate the cemetery on April 14, 1851. The corporators included some of West Chester's most prominent politicians and businessmen, including

William Darlington William Darlington (April 28, 1782 – April 23, 1863) was an American physician, botanist, and politician who served as a Democratic-Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 181 ...

, William Everhart, Joseph J. Lewis, and

Washington Townsend Washington Townsend (January 20, 1813 – March 18, 1894) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and career Washington Townsend was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His father was bota ...

. The corporation raised money through contributions by prominent citizens and purchased 23 acres of land from Joseph L. Taylor located one and a half miles north of West Chester to become the cemetery. The Oaklands Cemetery was dedicated on December 10, 1853. Samuel Rush, a noted lawyer, delivered the principal address, and George W. Pearce wrote the dedication ode. Bodies from the closed borough cemeteries were reburied at Oaklands the following year, along with the start of new burials. Burials grew so slowly that in July 1854 Darlington proposed that the remains of Isaac D. Barnard, a U.S. Senator and

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

hero, be moved to Oaklands to bolster interest in burials there. Barnard's remains were duly exhumed, transported to Oaklands in a grand procession, and interred beneath a newly erected marble obelisk while Darlington gave a speech lauding Barnard's deeds and the "beautiful rural repository of the dead" where he now lay. Interest in the cemetery rose as a result, and by their 1855 annual meeting, the incorporators could boast of fifty-two burials, including thirty-six transfers from other graveyards. As burials increased, the incorporators laid roads, created a small lake, and built a

receiving vault A receiving vault or receiving tomb, sometimes also known as a public vault, is a structure designed to temporarily store dead bodies in winter months when the ground is too frozen to dig a permanent grave in a cemetery. Technological advancement ...

, sexton's cottage, and stone gateway for the new cemetery. By 1888, the cemetery also featured an ornamental fountain as well as a chapel atop a slight rise called Chapel Hill. Towering trees and winding paths made this garden cemetery "one of the most attractive places in the vicinity." A memorial at the cemetery commemorates the crew of a B-25 bomber that

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

in a forested area of the cemetery on May 7, 1944.

Adjacent cemeteries

In 1862, additional land was purchased as an annex for the burial of African American decedents. The Chestnut Grove Cemetery Company was incorporated to manage this property on October 27, 1862. It is now the Chestnut Grove Cemetery Annex and as of 1910 consisted of ten acres of land owned and managed by African American residents. DeBaptiste Funeral Home managed the property as of 2013. Painter

Horace Pippin Horace Pippin (February 22, 1888 – July 6, 1946) was a self-taught American artist who painted a range of themes, including scenes inspired by his service in World War I, landscapes, portraits, and biblical subjects. Some of his best-known work ...

, politician Harry W. Bass, and forester Ralph E. Brock are among the interments there. A portion of Oaklands Cemetery was allotted for Roman Catholic burials. This section became St. Agnes Cemetery, adjoining the Oaklands Cemetery on the north. An Orthodox Friends cemetery was established across the street from Oaklands in 1874. Arctic explorer

Isaac Israel Hayes Isaac Israel Hayes (March 5, 1832 – December 17, 1881) was an American Arctic explorer, physician, and politician, who was appointed as the commanding officer at Satterlee General Hospital during the American Civil War, and was then elected, a ...

and Chester County historian

Gilbert Cope Gilbert Cope (August 17, 1840 – December 17, 1928) was an American historian and genealogist who authored numerous publications on the history and prominent families of Chester County, Pennsylvania. His magnum opus was the ''History of Chester ...

are among the interments there.

Notable burials

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

(1910–1981), composer best known for his

Adagio for Strings ''Adagio for Strings'' is a work by Samuel Barber, arguably his best known, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year that he wrote the quart ...

and the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

''Vanessa'' * Isaac Dutton Barnard (1791–1834),

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

* Thomas S. Bell (1800–1861),

Pennsylvania State Senator The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ever ...

and justice of the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

* Thomas S. Bell Jr. (1838–1862), Union Army lieutenant colonel killed in action at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

* Joseph Emley Borden (1854–1929),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

* Samuel Butler (1825–1891),

Pennsylvania State Representative The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

and

Pennsylvania Treasurer The Pennsylvania State Treasurer is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of state government. The state treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms. The Pennsylva ...

from 1880 to 1882 * Smedley Darlington Butler (1881–1940),

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

General, double recipient of the

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. ...

, and exposer of the

Business Plot The Business Plot (also called the Wall Street Putsch and The White House Putsch) was an alleged political conspiracy in 1933, in the United States to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install Smedley Butler as di ...

to overthrow President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

* Thomas Stalker Butler (1855–1928),

United States Representative 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 ...

from 1897 to 1928 * William Butler (1822–1909), judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...

Isabel Darlington Isabel Darlington (June 22, 1865 – June 24, 1950) was an American lawyer and the first woman to gain admittance to the bar and practice law in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Specializing in estate and business law, Darlington handled the legal ...

1865–1950), lawyer and first woman to practice law in

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, th ...

* Smedley Darlington (1827–1899), United States Representative from 1887 to 1891 *

(1782–1863), botanist and United States Representative from 1815–1817 and 1819–1823 * James Bowen Everhart (1785–1868), United States Representative from 1883 to 1887 * William Everhart (1785–1868), United States Representative from 1853 to 1855 * Thomas Lawrence Eyre (1862–1926), President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1921–1922 * Henry Ruhl Guss (1825–1907),

U.S. 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 t ...

brevet

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

* Alexander Hemphill (1921–1986), Philadelphia City Comptroller and unsuccessful candidate for mayor and US Congress *

Joseph Hergesheimer Joseph Hergesheimer (February 15, 1880 – April 25, 1954) was an American writer of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy. Early life Hergesheimer was born on February 15, 1880 Phil ...

(1880–1954), author best known for novels such as ''Three Black Pennys'' and ''Java Head'' * John Hickman (1810–1875),

from 1855 to 1865 *

Francis James Alfred Francis James (21 April 191824 August 1992) was an Australian publisher known for being imprisoned in China as a spy. Early life James was born in Queenstown, Tasmania, the son of an Anglican priest. His early life was unsettled as his ...

(1799–1886), United States Representative from 1839 to 1843 * Dewitt Clinton Lewis (1822–1899), American Civil War

recipient * Joseph J. Lewis (1801–1883), author of the first biography of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

commissioner * Henry McIntire (1835–1863), Union Army lieutenant colonel who died of wounds sustained at the

Battle of Glendale The Battle of Glendale, also known as the Battle of Frayser's Farm, Frazier's Farm, Nelson's Farm, Charles City Crossroads, New Market Road, or Riddell's Shop, took place on June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the sixth day of the Sev ...

* Levi Samuel Meyerle (1845–1921),

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

George Morris Philips George Morris Philips (October 28, 1851 – March 11, 1920) was an American educator and academic administrator who was the longest-serving principal of West Chester State Normal School (now West Chester University of Pennsylvania) from 1881 to ...

(1851–1920), principal of

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

from 1881 to 1920 * George W. Roberts (1833–1862), Union Army colonel killed in action at the

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Ame ...

* Joseph Trimble Rothrock (1839–1922), conservationist and Pennsylvania state forestry commissioner *

Barclay Rubincam Barclay Lawrence Rubincam (July 2, 1920 – June 24, 1978) was an American artist who painted mostly in a regionalist style. He specialized in natural and historical scenes of his native Chester County, Pennsylvania. His art is held in the perm ...

(1920–1978), regionalist painter affiliated with the

Brandywine School The Brandywine School was a style of illustration—as well as an artists colony in Wilmington, Delaware and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River—both founded by artist Howard Pyle (1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. ...

* George Fairlamb Smith (1840–1877), Union Army colonel, state representative, and Chester County district attorney * David Townsend (1787–1858), botanist, banker, and civic leader in whose honor the genus '' Townsendia'' was named *

(1813–1894), United States Representative from 1869 until 1877 * William Hollingsworth Whyte (1917–1999), sociologist and journalist who wrote the bestseller ''The Organization Man'' * Wilmer Worthington (1804–1873), physician and Speaker of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

in 1869 *

Garo Yepremian Garabed Sarkis "Garo" Yepremian (June 2, 1944 – May 15, 2015) was a Cypriot-Armenian American football placekicker who played in the National Football League for 15 seasons, primarily with the Miami Dolphins. During his nine seasons in Mia ...

(1944–2015), professional American football placekicker who played with the

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References

External links

Official website

Oaklands Cemetery
at

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oaklands Cemetery Cemeteries established in the 1850s Cemeteries in Chester County, Pennsylvania West Goshen Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania 1854 establishments in Pennsylvania Rural cemeteries West Chester, Pennsylvania