Ottumwa Cemetery is a public

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

located in

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...

, United States. The entrance area of the cemetery forms 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 ...

that was listed 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 1995. At the time of its nomination it was composed of four resources, which included two

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 ...

and 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 ...

. with

History

The cemetery was established in 1857 when the community outgrew the old cemetery, which was located closer to the downtown area. Ottumwa Cemetery began with . The lots were laid in a grid pattern with meandering roads along the hillsides. It forms an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

that contains trees and shrubs that have been planted throughout the city's history. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 as a part of the ''Ottumwa MPS''.

Architecture

An ornate

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 advancements ...

was built in the cemetery in 1887. It is composed of red brick with

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

panels. It 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. A

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

fence was put up along Court Street just after the vault was built. The Edgerly Gateway provides the main entrance into the cemetery. The

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 ...

arch was built in the classical style of a Triumphal Roman arch in 1904. Two years later the combination office and chapel building was built in the Gothic Revival style. It was dedicated to the Union soldiers and sailors who fought in the

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 ...

. The building features arched windows and

crenelated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

roofline.

Notable burials

Leonidas M. Godley Leonidas Mahlon Godley (June 13, 1836 – May 23, 1904) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He enlisted as 2nd Sergeant of Company E, 22nd Iowa Infantry Regiment on August 6, 1862, and was promoted 1st Sergeant in January 1 ...

(1836–1904),

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 from the Civil War *

Herschel C. Loveless Herschel Cellel Loveless (May 5, 1911May 4, 1989) was the 34th Governor of Iowa, from 1957 to 1961. He was also mayor of Ottumwa, Iowa. He was born in 1911 in Hedrick, Iowa and died in 1989 in Winchester, Virginia. When elected governor in 195 ...

(1911–1989),

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

* Thomas J. Potter (1840–1888), railroad executive of

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

Daniel F. Steck Daniel Frederic Steck (December 16, 1881December 31, 1950), was the only Iowa Democrat in the United States Senate between the American Civil War and the Great Depression. He was sworn in as senator only after an extraordinary election challenge, ...

(1881–1950),

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 ...

from Iowa *One British Commonwealth war grave, of a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

Cadet.
CWGC casualty record.

References

{{NRHP in Wapello County, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic districts in Wapello County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Wapello County, Iowa Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Cemeteries in Iowa Protected areas of Wapello County, Iowa Gothic Revival architecture in Iowa 1857 establishments in Iowa Buildings and structures in Ottumwa, Iowa