Oak Hill Cemetery: Difference between revisions

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* [[Thomas Peters]], Birmingham founder
* [[Thomas Peters]], Birmingham founder
* [[William Pettiford]] (1847–1914), Baptist minister, founder of [[Alabama Penny Savings Bank]]
* [[William Pettiford]] (1847–1914), Baptist minister, founder of [[Alabama Penny Savings Bank]]
* [[D. C. Redington]] (1840-1900), photographer
* [[D. C. Redington]] (1840–1900), photographer
* [[Edmund Rucker]] (1835–1924), Civil War general, namesake of Fort Rucker, builder of the [[Walter Agee residence]]
* [[Edmund Rucker]] (1835–1924), Civil War general, namesake of Fort Rucker, builder of the [[Walter Agee residence]]
* [[Fred Shuttlesworth]] (1922–2011), Baptist minister, [[Civil Rights Movement]] leader
* [[Fred Shuttlesworth]] (1922–2011), Baptist minister, [[Civil Rights Movement]] leader
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* [[Sylvester Steele]], Birmingham founder
* [[Sylvester Steele]], Birmingham founder
* [[Edward M. Tutwiler]] (1846–1925), railroad and mining engineer, developer
* [[Edward M. Tutwiler]] (1846–1925), railroad and mining engineer, developer
* [[Robert Van Hook]] (1856-1893), founder of [[First Christian Church]]
* [[Robert Van Hook]] (1856–1893), founder of [[First Christian Church]]
* [[William Walker Sr]] (1811–1890), pioneer farmer and merchant
* [[William Walker Sr]] (1811–1890), pioneer farmer and merchant
* [[Margaret Ward|Margaret Ketchum Ward]] (1840-1919), called the "Mother of Birmingham"
* [[Margaret Ward|Margaret Ketchum Ward]] (1840-1919), called the "Mother of Birmingham"
* [[James A. Ware]] (d. 1888), Birmingham founder
* [[James A. Ware]] (d. 1888), Birmingham founder
* [[Thomas Watts]], namesake of [[Watts Building]]
* [[Thomas Haynes Watts]] (1838–1879), developer of the [[Watts Building (1888)]] and [[Watts Building (1927)]]
* [[J. B. Webb]], owner of the [[Dude Saloon]]
* [[J. B. Webb]], owner of the [[Dude Saloon]]
* [[John Westbrook]] (1818–1888), merchant and real estate trader
* [[John Westbrook]] (1818–1888), merchant and real estate trader
* [[Lewis White]] (1932-2017), radio personality and educator
* [[Lewis White]] (1932–2017), radio personality and educator
* [[Louise Wooster]] (1842–1913), famed Madam
* [[Louise Wooster]] (1842–1913), famed Madam
* [[Benjamin Worthington]] (1814-1884), plantation owner, Birmingham founder
* [[Benjamin Worthington]] (1814–1884), plantation owner, Birmingham founder
* [[Howard Yeilding]] (1899-1964), [[Jefferson County Personnel Board]] president
* [[Howard Yeilding]] (1899–1964), [[Jefferson County Personnel Board]] president
* [[Frank Yeilding]] (1864–1948), founder of [[Yeilding's]] department store chain
* [[Frank Yeilding]] (1864–1948), founder of [[Yeilding's]] department store chain
* [[Peter Zinszer]] (1857-1895), merchant
* [[Peter Zinszer]] (1857–1895), merchant


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 09:15, 25 March 2020

This article is about the cemetery in Birmingham. For others, see Oak Hill Cemetery (disambiguation).
Oak Hill Cemetery in March 2009. Photo by Terry McCombs

Oak Hill Cemetery, located between 17th and 19th Streets and 11th Avenue and 13th Court North, is Birmingham's oldest and most distinguished cemetery. Originally 21.5 acres on the estate of James M. Ware, it was already a burial ground by April 1869 when it served as the resting place for the infant daughter of future mayor Robert Henley. It was marked as "City Cemetery" on the original plats for Birmingham laid out by the Elyton Land Company and was formally sold to the city on December 29, 1873 for the sum of $1,073.50.

Most of the 11,000 or so burials at Oak Hill were interred before 1905, including nine of the ten landholders who founded the city, many early mayors, a Revolutionary soldier, numerous Civil War veterans, and the first male child born in the city. The earliest marker memorializes Jesse Thompson, the father of Mayor B. A. Thompson. Although few records exist from the time, most believe the "Potter's Field" section was also used as the final resting place for many victims of the 1873 cholera epidemic.

The Birmingham City Directory in 1883 states the established price of burial lots as three cents per square foot. It also warns that while no one will be forced to pay for a plot in advance of burial, if payment is not received within 60 days after death, the lot reverts back to the city, where then the body will be removed and reburied in the pauper burial ground.

In 1889 Judge A. O. Lane purchased 200 acres on the southern slopes of Red Mountain, now Lane Park, for the burial of paupers, thereby ending the use of Oak Hill's "Potter's Field". In 1928 the caretaker's cottage near the center of the property, was removed to the southwest corner of the cemetery and a new "Pioneer's Memorial Building" was constructed of Indiana Limestone, designed by Miller & Martin Architects with William Kessler, landscape architect.

Since 1913 Oak Hill has been under the care of the Oak Hill Memorial Association, a group created to preserve and maintain the monuments, grounds, and records of the cemetery. The New Deal-era Works Progress Administration carried out improvements to the cemetery in the 1930s. Later that same decade, vandals damaged the Grand Army of the Republic monument, which had been erected in 1891.

In 1977, Oak Hill Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Oak Hill Memorial Association keeps an office in the former caretaker's cottage and published a quarterly newsletter, the Oak Hill Pioneer, from Winter 1999 to Fall 2001, with articles about the history of the city in the context of the lives of those buried at Oak Hill.

Notable burials

Louise Wooster's headstone at Oak Hill Cemetery

References

External links

Locate with
Google Maps

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