02/20/09

Photo Gallery: Oakland Cemetery

From the official website:

City fathers purchased six acres in 1850 to be a public burial ground for a young but fast-growing town that already had a population of more than 2,500. It was designed as a rural garden cemetery, a 19th Century innovation conceived as an alternative to traditional graveyards which often were crowded and aesthetically unappealing.

Originally called Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, Oakland was renamed in 1872. By then it had expanded to 88 acres, mainly due to pressures of the Civil War. During the war, the City and the Confederate government added land to bury soldiers who died in local hospitals. As fighting drew closer and engulfed Atlanta, more burial space was needed. After the war, space was added to provide a proper final resting place for soldiers who had been hastily buried on area battlefields. By 1867 the cemetery reached its present size.

Two historical markers within Oakland describe its connections with momentous events of the Civil War.

• In 1862, Union operatives known as Andrews Raiders commandeered a locomotive at present-day Kennesaw and raced north to cut telegraph lines. They were captured and condemned as spies. Seven were hanged near Oakland’s southeast corner and interred in the cemetery before removal to the National Cemetery at Chattanooga.

• On high ground north of the Bell Tower, a two-story farmhouse stood in the summer of 1864. It served as headquarters for Confederate commander John B. Hood during the Battle of Atlanta, which was fought to the east of the cemetery on July 22.

In the late 19th Century, Oakland was a popular destination for Sunday carriage rides and picnics. Families tended the plots of loved ones, creating an assortment of lovely gardens. Atlanta’s first greenhouse was established here in 1870. Many distinctions of daily life were maintained in death, as African-Americans were buried apart from whites and Jewish sections were separate from Christian.

As the 20th Century unfolded, Oakland increasingly was surrounded by residential and industrial development. The cemetery also was filling up. The last sites were sold in 1884. With the passage of time, many graves went unattended as descendents moved away or lost touch with their antecedents. Oakland fell into serious disrepair from neglect and occasional vandalism.

Historic Oakland Foundation was founded in 1976, the same year Oakland was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Working with the City, the Foundation has done much to stabilize the cemetery. Despite progress, deterioration will continue until a comprehensive and systematic restoration and preservation effort is completed.

The next great chapter of Oakland history will be Historic Oakland Foundation’s current campaign to raise $15 million for restoration and repairs, and $10 million for endowment to assure ongoing preservation.