Oakwood Cemetery, originally called City Cemetery, is the oldest city-owned cemetery in Austin, Texas. Situated on a hill just east of

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

that overlooks downtown Austin, just north of the Swedish Hill Historic District and south of Disch-Falk Field, the once-isolated site is now in the center of the city.

History

The cemetery dates from the mid-1850s. It may have begun even earlier, as legend states that its first tenants were victims of a

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

attack whose bodies were laid to rest on the same hill. The cemetery was renamed Oakwood in 1907 per city ordinance. It spreads over , including an annex across Comal Street to the east, and includes sections historically dedicated to the city's black, Latino, and Jewish populations. Paupers were historically buried in unmarked graves on the cemetery's south side. Graves without permanent markers were subject to reburial after a given period. In 1914 the Oakwood Cemetery Mortuary Chapel was built on a design by Texas architect Charles Henry Page as a site for memorial services. The chapel was later renovated and remodeled in 1944 under the direction of local architect J. Roy White. The cemetery became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1972 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985; its annex was added on October 30, 2003. The view of the Texas State Capitol from Comal Street in the center of the cemetery became one of the Capitol View Corridors protected under state and local law from obstruction by tall buildings in 1983. Despite its protected status, the cemetery has been subject to crime, vandalism, and decay for decades.

Notable burials

* Wilmer Allison (1904–1977) – Tennis player *

John Barclay Armstrong John Barclay Armstrong (January 1, 1850 – May 1, 1913) was a Texas Ranger lieutenant and a United States Marshal. He is usually remembered for his role in the pursuit and capture of the famous gunfighter John Wesley Hardin. Armstrong was born ...

(1850–1913) – Texas Ranger (

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

), U.S. Marshall, and rancher. Captured the notorious killer

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming h ...

. *

Richard Bache Jr. Richard Franklin Bache, also known as Richard Bache Jr. (1784–1848), was a military and political official in the Republic and state of Texas. He assisted in drafting the Texas Constitution of 1845, the first of its five state constitutions ...

who represented Galveston in the Senate of the Second Texas Legislature in 1847 and assisted in drawing up the Texas Constitution of 1845 *

Thomas N. Barnes Thomas Nelson Barnes (November 16, 1930 – March 17, 2003) was an airman in the United States Air Force who served as the 4th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from October 1973 to July 1977, the first African American in that position. ...

(1930–2003) Fourth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force * Dr.

Annie Webb Blanton Annie Webb Blanton (19 August 1870 Houston – 2 October 1945 Austin) was an American suffragist from Texas, educator, and author of a series of grammar textbooks. ''Texas Writers of Today,'' by Florence Elberta Barns (1889–1957), Dallas: Tard ...

(1870–1945) – First woman elected to statewide office in Texas. Served as State Superintendent for Public Instruction (1919–22) *

Albert S. Burleson Albert Sidney Burleson (June 7, 1863 – November 24, 1937) was a progressive Democrat who served as United States Postmaster General and Representative in Congress. He was a strong supporter of William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, so Wil ...

(1863–1937) – United States Postmaster General (1913–21) *

Florence Anderson Clark Florence Anderson Clark (, Anderson; June 10, 1835 – March 19, 1918) was an American author, newspaper editor, librarian, and university administrator. She served for 14 years as assistant librarian at the University of Texas (UT), and in honor ...

(1835–1918) – author, newspaper editor, librarian, university dean *

Oscar Branch Colquitt Oscar Branch Colquitt (December 16, 1861 – March 8, 1940) was the 25th Governor of Texas from January 17, 1911 to January 19, 1915. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Gov. Colquitt defended the actions of the Texas Rangers who alle ...

(1861–1940) –

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

(1911–15) *

Susanna Dickinson Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson (1813 – October 7, 1883) and her infant daughter, Angelina, were among the few American survivors of 1836 Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. Her husband, Almaron Dickinson, and 185 other Texian defe ...

(1814–1883) –

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...

survivor *

John Crittenden Duval John Crittenden Duval (1816–1897) was an American writer of Texas literature. He has been noted as being the first Texas man of letters Dobie, J. Frank.Duval, John Crittenden in the ''Handbook of Texas Online''. Texas State Historical Assoc ...

(1816–1897) – "Father of Texas Literature" * John Henry Faulk (1913–1990) – Radio personality * Rebecca Jane G. Fisher (1831–1926), the only woman elected to the Texas Veterans Association and its last surviving member, the first woman to have her portrait hung in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol. * James M. Goggin (1820–1899) – CSA army officer * Thomas Green (1814–1864) – American Civil War general *

Thomas Watt Gregory Thomas Watt Gregory (November 6, 1861February 26, 1933) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a progressive and attorney who served as US Attorney General from 1914 to 1919 under US President Woodrow Wilson. Early life Gregory was born ...

(1861–1933) – US Attorney General (1914–19) *

Andrew J. Hamilton Andrew Jackson Hamilton (January 28, 1815 – April 11, 1875) was an American politician during the third quarter of the 19th century. He was a lawyer, state representative, military governor of Texas, as well as the 11th Governor of Texas during ...

(1815–1875) –

(1865–66) * Morgan C. Hamilton (1809–1893) –

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

(1870–77) * John Hancock (1824–1893) – Member of the United States House of Representatives (1871–85) *

Ima Hogg Ima Hogg (July 10, 1882 – August 19, 1975), known as "The First Lady of Texas", was an American society leader, philanthropist, mental health advocate, patron and collector of the arts, and one of the most respected women in Texas during th ...

(1882–1975) – Philanthropist *

James S. Hogg James Stephen "Jim" Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman, and the List of Governors of Texas, 20th Governor of Texas. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservativism, conservative New ...

(1851–1906) –

(1891–95) * Jacob Kuechler (1823–1893) — German immigrant, surveyor, conscientious objector during the Civil War *

George W. Littlefield George Washington Littlefield (June 21, 1842 – November 10, 1920) was a Confederate Army officer, cattleman, banker, and regent of the University of Texas. Born in Mississippi, Littlefield moved to Texas with his family when he was a ...

(1842–1920) – Cattleman, banker, University of Texas Regent * John Lomax (1867–1948) – Author and musicologist *

Hermann Lungkwitz Hermann Lungkwitz (1813–1891) was a 19th-century German-born Texas romantic landscape artist and photographer whose work became the first pictorial record of the Texas Hill Country. Early life Karl Friedrich Hermann Lungkwitz was born on Marc ...

(1813–1891) — Painter and photographer * Henry Green Madison (1843–1912) – First African-American City Councilman of Austin * Nimrod Lindsay Norton (1830–1903) – Confederate officer and politician, later prominent businessman *

Elisha M. Pease Elisha Marshall Pease (January 3, 1812 – August 26, 1883) was a Texas politician. He served as the fifth and 13th governor of Texas. Texas Republic A native of Enfield, Connecticut, Pease moved to Mexican Texas in 1835. He soon became active ...

(1812–1883) –

(1853—57, 1867–69) * Oran M. Roberts (1815–1898) –

(1879–83) * Ben Thompson (1842–1884) – City Marshal of Austin *

William M. Walton William Martin Walton (January 17, 1832 – July 1, 1915) was a prominent lawyer in Austin, Texas. During the Civil War, Walton served as a major in the Confederate Army. After the war, he was elected attorney general of the state and also ...

(1832–1915) –

Attorney General of Texas The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the

(1866–67) *

Charles S. West Charles Shannon West (September 24, 1829 – October 23, 1885) was an American jurist and politician in the state of Texas, serving as a state representative, the Texas Secretary of State, and an Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. ...

(1829–1885) – Texas Supreme Court justice and

Secretary of State of Texas The Secretary of State of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of the State of Texas in the United States. Under the Constitution of Texas, the appointment is made by the governor of Texas, with confirmation by the Texas S ...

References

External links

Austin Chronicle – "City of the Dead"
* * *

{{Authority control Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas City of Austin Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Cemeteries in Austin, Texas Jewish cemeteries in Texas 1850s establishments in Texas