Oakwood Cemetery
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded 1879 by John Peter Smith, one of Fort Worth's first settlers, who became a civic leader, mayor, philanthropist. He gave 20 acres to city; cemetery since enlarged to 100 acres. The area contains three cemeteries: Oakwood, Calvary, Trinity. Many Fort Worth and Tarrant County men and women of destiny are buried here. Plots are owned by lodges, unions, Catholic, Protestant, Negro, and White. Tracts are dedicated to Union and Confederate soldiers. The Chapel was built in 1914. Oakwood, Calvary associations, and city provide care. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fort Worth pioneer John Peter Smith — later a mayor, civic leader, and philanthropist — founded this cemetery in 1879 with a gift of 20 acres, since grown to 100. Bringing together the Oakwood, Calvary, and Trinity grounds, it holds many of the city's and county's notable dead, with plots held by lodges, unions, and churches, and separate tracts for Union and Confederate soldiers. Its chapel dates to 1914.
Why it matters
The cemetery's divisions — Catholic and Protestant, Union and Confederate, Negro and White — quietly map the social and racial lines of a growing Gilded Age Texas city.
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Related people
- · John Peter Smith
Themes & tags
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