Oak Woods Cemetery is a large lawn cemetery in

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Located at 1035 E. 67th Street, in the Greater Grand Crossing area of Chicago's South Side. Established on February 12, 1853, it covers . Oak Woods is the final resting place of several famous Americans including

Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as ma ...

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

, and

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" and ...

. It is also the setting for a mass grave and memorial for Confederate prisoners of war from Camp Douglas, called the Confederate Mound.

History

Oak Woods Cemetery was chartered on February 12, 1853. It was designed by landscape architect

Adolph Strauch Adolph Strauch (b. August 30, 1822 – 1883) was a renowned landscape architect born in Silesia, Prussia, known particularly for his layout designs of cemeteries like Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forest Lawn in Buffalo, NY and O ...

who created a ‘landscape-lawn cemetery’ on the 183 acres emphasizing grade changes with curving streets and well-planned drainage creating a uniform composition which was free of fences. The first burials took place in 1860. After 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 ...

(1861–1865), several thousand

Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, prisoners who died at Camp Douglas, were reburied here. According to a plaque on the site, soldiers were buried in "concentric trenches." A monument and marker, which former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor John C. Underwood helped construct, probably inflates the number of soldiers buried as 6,000, but lists the names of more than 4,000. Another, smaller memorial commemorates the

Union soldiers During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

who died at Camp Douglas, often from contagious diseases. The bodies from Camp Douglas had originally been buried at Camp Douglas and the City Cemetery, which was closed and removed during expansion of Lincoln Park and urban renewal following the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

of 1871. The bodies were exhumed and re-interred together in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

, which came to be known as Confederate Mound, reputedly the largest documented

in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

. In response to the establishment of the Confederate memorial, in 1896, Thomas D. Lowther, a pre-war resident of the South, erected near it an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

monument. The abolition monument is a large black marble

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

to pre-war southerners, "unknown heroric men", "martyrs" who had ''opposed'' slavery and disunion. Near the beginning of the war, Lowther had been forced to flee his home in Florida because of his anti-slavery and pro-Union stance. The cemetery contains the graves of many prominent African Americans, including Chicago's first African-American mayor,

. Journalist and anti-lynching activist

, Olympic sports hero

, business and publishing magnate John H. Johnson,

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

pioneer

Thomas A. Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Evangelism, Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them ...

and Gospel music star

Albertina Walker Albertina Walker ( – ) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian. Early years Walker was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ruben and Camilla Coleman Walker. Her mother was born in Houston County, Georgia, and ...

are also buried in the cemetery. The cemetery is also the final resting place of 45 victims of the

Iroquois Theatre fire The Iroquois Theatre fire occurred on December 30, 1903, at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history, resulting in at least 602 deaths. Thea ...

, in which more than 600 people died. Famous nuclear physicist

has his final resting place here, as do several other faculty members of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. The cemetery also has a section for U.S. veterans of several wars, and a separately-maintained Jewish section. Confederate Mound cannon

Notable burials

In 2022, the Hyde Park Historical Society created an interactive directory application for monuments at the cemetery. * Donald N. Aldrich (1917-1947), naval aviator and ace *

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 ...

(1852–1922), Major League Baseball Hall of Fame * Frank Bacon (1864–1922), actor and playwright * Ferdinand Lee Barnett (1852–1936), lawyer and civil rights activist. Spouse of Ida B. Wells. * Adolphus C. Bartlett (1844–1922), businessman, philanthropist *

Gary Becker Gary Stanley Becker (; December 2, 1930 – May 3, 2014) was an American economist who received the 1992 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was a professor of economics and sociology at the University of Chicago, and was a leader of ...

(1930–2014), economist, Nobel Prize winner *

Arthur M. Brazier Arthur M. Brazier (July 22, 1921 – October 22, 2010) was an American activist, author and pastor of the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, Illinois. Brazier served as pastor of the Universal Church of Christ, before merging with ACOG. He ...

(1921–2010), activist, pastor *

Woodnut S. Burr Woodnut Conwell Stilwell Burr (August 28, 1861 – December 19, 1952) was an ardent worker for women's suffrage in the United States. Early life Woodnut Conwell Stilwell Burr was born on August 28, 1861, in Anderson, Indiana, the daughter of Thom ...

(1861–1952), ardent worker for Women's suffrage in the United States * Frank Butler (1872–1899), pitcher and outfielder in pre-Negro leagues baseball *

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical family, ...

(1942–2016),

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and soul singer * Clarence H. Cobbs (1908–1979), founder of the First Church of Deliverance * James "Big Jim" Colosimo (1878–1920), boss of the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

Henry Chandler Cowles Henry Chandler Cowles (February 27, 1869 – September 12, 1939) was an American botanist and ecological pioneer (see History of ecology). A professor at the University of Chicago, he studied ecological succession in the Indiana Dunes of Nort ...

(1869-1939), professor of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at University of Chicago, pioneer American

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, conservationist * William Craig (1855–1902), first

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

agent to die on duty *

Charles S. Deneen Charles Samuel Deneen (May 4, 1863 – February 5, 1940) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Illinois, from 1905 to 1913. He was the first Illinois governor to serve two consecutive terms totalli ...

(1863–1940), 23rd Governor of Illinois *

(1899–1993), composer, the "father of

" *

Walter Eckersall Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American college football player, official, and sportswriter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He played for the Maroons of the University of Chicago, and was elected to the ...

(1886–1930), All-American quarterback and sportswriter *

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanians, Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who establ ...

(1907–1986), Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago *

(1901–1954), physicist, Nobel Prize winner, creator of the first

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

Henry Blake Fuller Henry Blake Fuller (January 9, 1857 – July 28, 1929) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born and worked in Chicago, Illinois. He is perhaps the earliest novelist from Chicago to gain a national reputation. His exploration ...

(1857-1929), writer, author of early work in

gay literature Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the gay community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior. Overview and history Because the social acceptance of homosexual ...

, ''

Bertram Cope's Year ''Bertram Cope's Year'' is a 1919 novel by Henry Blake Fuller, sometimes called the first American homosexual novel. Publication and reception Fuller completed work on the novel in May 1918. After failing to interest several New York publishin ...

'' *

Norman Golb Norman Golb (15 January 1928 – 29 December 2020) was the Ludwig Rosenberger Professor in Jewish History and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Golb was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on 15 January 1 ...

(1928–2020), historian *

Nancy Green Nancy Green (March 4, 1834 – August 30, 1923) was an American former enslaved woman, nanny, cook, activist, and the first of many African-American models and performers hired to promote a corporate trademark as "Aunt Jemima". The famous Aunt J ...

(1834–1923), storyteller, cook, activist, and the first woman to portray

Aunt Jemima Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed in 1888–188 ...

Jake Guzik Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik (March 20, 1886 – February 21, 1956) was the financial and legal advisor, and later political " greaser," for the Chicago Outfit. Early life Guzik was born near Kraków, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hu ...

(1886–1956), gangster and bookkeeper for

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

; aka "Greasy Thumb" * John Marshall Hamilton (1847–1905), 18th

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

William Draper Harkins William Draper Harkins (December 28, 1873 – March 7, 1951) was an American physical chemist, noted for his contributions to surface chemistry and nuclear chemistry. Harkins researched the structure of the atomic nucleus and was the first to p ...

(1873–1951), nuclear chemist *

Monroe Heath Monroe Heath (March 27, 1827October 21, 1894) was a U.S. politician. He served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1876–1879) for the Republican Party, after winning the 1876 election. He was subsequently reelected the following year, defeating ...

(1827–1894),

mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

John Christen Johansen John Christen Johansen (November 25, 1876 – May 23, 1964) was a Danish- American portraitist. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics. Background Johansen was born in Copenhagen and ...

(1876–1964), portraitist and landscape painter * Charles Johnson (1909–2006), pitcher and outfielder for the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

Eunice W. Johnson Eunice Walker Johnson (April 4, 1916 – January 3, 2010) was an American businesswoman. Johnson was the wife of publisher John H. Johnson and an executive at Johnson Publishing Company. Johnson was the founder and director of the ''Ebony'' Fashi ...

(1916–2010), business magnate and spouse of John H. Johnson * John H. Johnson (1918–2005), founder and publisher of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

'' and '' Jet'' magazines, spouse of Eunice W. Johnson *

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his ...

(1866–1944), Hall of Fame, First Commissioner of Baseball *

Richard Loeb Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (; June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), usually referred to collectively as Leopold and Loeb, were two wealthy students at the University of Chicago ...

(1905–1936), crime figure – cremated here, ashes returned to family *

Little Brother Montgomery Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communi ...

(1906–1985),

piano player and singer * S. Grace Nicholes (1870-1922), social reformer *

(1913–1980), Olympic track and field champion *

Fred Rice Jr. Fred Rice, Jr. (December 24, 1926 – January 10, 2011) was an American police officer for the Chicago Police Department who also served as superintendent of the department from August 1983 until November 1987. Rice is noted as the first permane ...

(1926–2011), first African-American

Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department The following is a list of heads of the Chicago Police Department. Currently the executive of the Chicago Police Department is referred to as a "Superintendent of Police". Preceding titles included High Constable, City Marshall, General Superint ...

Eugene Sawyer Eugene Sawyer Jr. (September 3, 1934January 19, 2008) was an American businessman, educator, and politician. Sawyer was selected as the 53rd Mayor of Chicago, Illinois after the sudden death of then–mayor Harold Washington, serving from Decemb ...

(1934–2008), second African-American

Mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

(1987–1989) *

J. Young Scammon Jonathan Young Scammon (July 27, 1812 – March 17, 1890) was an early settler in Chicago, Illinois, arriving in the city in 1835. He went on to become politically important as a lawyer, banker, and newspaper publisher. His first wife was Mary ...

(1812–1890), attorney, banker, newspaper publisher * Maud Slye (1879–1954),

pathologist * Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1915–2000), Gospel singer * Willie Stokes (1937–1986), Chicago mobster *

William Hale Thompson William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", Reynolds, Paul (November 29, 2009)"US-UK 'Special Relationshi ...

(1869–1944),

* June Travis (1914–2008), film actress * Herbert J. Tweedie (1864–1906), golf course architect *

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Br ...

(1914–1986), Major League Baseball owner – cremated here, ashes returned to family *

(1929–2010), singer, songwriter, "Queen of Gospel" *

(1922–1987), lawyer, politician, first African American

(1862–1931), social reformer, civil rights activist. Spouse of Ferdinand Lee Barnett. *

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

(1934–1998),

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician * Ben Wilson (1967–1984), Chicago Simeon H.S., 1984–85 #1 Ranked high school basketball player in America *

James Hutchinson Woodworth James Hutchinson Woodworth (December 4, 1804 – March 26, 1869), was a member of the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois State House of Representatives, served as a Chicago Alderman, was elected to consecutive terms as Mayor of Chi ...

(1804–1869),

* Otto Young (1844–1907), "Merchant Millionaire" of Chicago and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Roland Burris tomb

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected to ...

, the

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 ...

appointed by Illinois governor

Rod Blagojevich Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...

, constructed a family

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

at in the Oak Woods Cemetery, in preparation for his and his wife's eventual interment. The tomb recites Burris accomplishments and received considerable publicity (often negative) after Burris' appointment.

References

External links

Official Oakwoods Cemetery corporate websiteGraveyards.com: Oak Woods CemeteryDepartment of Veterans Affairs page on the Confederate mound
* * * {{Authority control Cemeteries in Chicago South Side, Chicago Confederate States of America cemeteries 1853 establishments in Illinois 19th century in Chicago Historic American Landscapes Survey in Illinois Rural cemeteries

History

Notable burials

Roland Burris tomb

See also

References

External links