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For other cemeteries with this name, see Oak Hill Cemetery.
Oak Hill Cemetery
Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel
Map
Details
EstablishedMarch 3, 1849
Location
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
CountryUnited States
Coordinates38°54′46″N 77°03′33″W / 38.9127°N 77.0592°W / 38.9127; -77.0592
Typeprivate
Owned byOak Hill Cemetery Company
Size22 acres (89,000 m2)
WebsiteOak Hill Cemetery Web site
Find a GraveOak Hill Cemetery
The Political GraveyardOak Hill Cemetery

Oak Hill Cemetery is a historic 22-acre (89,000 m2) cemetery located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. The land was purchased in 1847 and the cemetery established in March 1849. It opened in October 1851, and is a prime example of a garden cemetery. A large number of famous politicians, business people, military personnel, diplomats, and philanthropists are buried at Oak Hill, and the cemetery has a number of Victorian-style memorials and monuments. Oak Hill has two structures which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel and the Van Ness Mausoleum.

Founding of Oak Hill Cemetery

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The development of Georgetown and its cemeteries

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Washington, D.C.'s first cemetery was Rock Creek Cemetery, founded in 1719 on 84.2 acres (341,000 m2) in the north-central part of the District of Columbia.[a][1] Other cemeteries, meeting the need of other religious groups, soon followed. Roman Catholics, some of the earliest settlers of Georgetown, established an informal burying ground around 1750 at what would later become 35th Street NW between N and O Streets.[2][3] In 1787, this burying ground became part of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. More than 50 years later, Presbyterian Burying Ground was established in 1802 in an area now bounded by Q, R, 33rd, and 34th Streets NW.[4][5] Other cemeteries soon followed: 4.5-acre (18,000 m2) Congressional Cemetery in 1807,[6] 3.5-acre (14,000 m2) Methodist Cemetery (later known as Mount Zion Cemetery) in 1807,[7] 1-acre (4,000 m2) College Ground cemetery in 1818,[8] 6.5-acre (26,000 m2) Holy Rood Cemetery in 1832,[8] and the 1.5-acre (6,100 m2) Female Union Band Cemetery in 1842.[9] Presbyterian Burying Ground, however, not only continued to serve as the primary cemetery for Georgetown residents,[10] but was considered the preferred cemetery for those of high social rank or wealth. Unlike Presbyterian, other Georgetown cemeteries were simply too small and crowded to permit the construction of the large funerary monuments favored by Americans in the Victorian era, and Rock Creek Cemetery was too distant to be convenient (as well as not open to non-Episcopalians).

Presbyterian Burying Ground's status did not last long, however. Congressional Cemetery grew in popularity and later in size, and more of the city's middle-class and wealthy residents sought burial there. As mid-century approached, the Prebysterian Burying Ground fell into disrepair.[11] But many high-status and wealthy residents disliked Congressional Cemetery, for it lay on the far eastern border of the Federal City,[b] and was difficult to reach as Pennsylvania Avenue in that area was little more than a dirt track. Many upper-class citizens of Georgetown and the Federal City desired a more convenient cemetery.

The purchase of Parrot's Woods and founding of Oak Hill

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William Wilson Corcoran, founder of Oak Hill Cemetery.

A potential site existed near Georgetown—a large, undeveloped tract of land northeast and adjacent to the original Georgetown city limits.[12] This was the "Rock of Dumbarton",[12] also known as Parrot's Woods.[13] The area was named for Robert Parrot (also known as "Robert Parrott"), who owned a ropewalk (rope manufacturing facility) and large home on what would later become Montrose Park.[14][c][15] Parrot's Woods was west of Parrot's home and business. It extended east to Rock Creek and then south around 28th Street NW down to Q Street NW. The woods were viewed as a sort of public park. Schoolchildren used it as a playground, families picnicked there on weekends, and it was often used for Independence Day events and political rallies.[13][16] Parrot didn't own the woods, however.[d][13] The 50-acre (200,000 m2) woods were owned by George Corbin Washington,[12] nephew to President George Washington.[17] George Corbin Washington later conveyed part-ownership in the woods to his son, Lewis Washington.[18][e][12]

On June 7, 1848, George C. and Lewis Washington sold 12.5 acres (51,000 m2) of this land to William Wilson Corcoran for $3,000 ($105,646 in 2024 dollars).[12][19][20] Corcoran was a 50-year-old local stockbroker and banker,[21] and the son of Thomas Corcoran (three times the Mayor of Georgetown between 1803 and 1819).[22] Co-owner of the Corcoran and Riggs bank, he was one of the wealthiest men in the city. Corcoran made his first fortune in 1841 by loaning the federal government $5 million ($147,677,419 in 2024 dollars) at 101 percent interest a year.[21] He made a second fortune in 1846: The U.S. government was selling bonds to finance the Mexican–American War, and sales of the bonds were going poorly in the United States, where few people had the cash to invest. Corcoran took the nearly $5 million ($169,555,556 in 2024 dollars) bond issue to Europe, where he sold every single one—earning a $1 million commission ($29,535,484 in 2024 dollars).[23][24] Corcoran's success restored the faith of European money markets in the creditworthiness of the United States, which had been nearly destroyed in the Panic of 1837.[21]

Corcoran intended to use this land to build a cemetery. His motivations for doing so were complex. He had a passion for European art and art movements, and desired to be a philanthropist. He later wrote that money was "a sacred trust for the benefit of knowledge, truth, and charity."[25] But according to historian Holly Tank, Corcoran also "relished prestige and being at the center of things".[25] Money was important in that it allowed him to benefit society. But, as Corcoran himself later said, good deeds also won him "the gratifying appreciation of many good and great men."[25] Corcoran may also have had a nostaglic attachment to the woods: The Washington Sunday Chronicle newspaper pointed out that he played there as a child, and knew them well.[26] Furthermore, Corcoran may have desired to build the first "garden cemetery" in the nation's capital. Garden cemeteries, unlike churchyard cemeteries, were well-organized, spacious, and landscaped, and the garden cemetery had recently been introduced to the United States to much acclaim. Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston was built in 1831, and was widely recognized as the first garden cemetery in the United States. It was followed by Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia in 1836, and Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in 1838.[27] Corcoran had traveled widely in Europe in the 1840s,[28] and was inspired by the European garden cemeteries (notably the world's first garden cemetery, Père Lachaise) and the three American garden cemeteries to create a garden cemetery for the public benefit in Washington, D.C.[29][11][27][30]

 
Map showing Oak Hill Cemetery's original acreage, between 1856 and 1859.

The site of Corcoran's new cemetery occupied a roughly rectangular area north of Road Street (now R Street NW) between Montgomery and Washington Streets (now 28th and 30th Streets NW, respectively).[31] The site was the highest point in Georgetown, 176 feet (54 m) above sea level,[32] and had vistas of the city's monumental core and the United States Capitol to the east and the Potomac River to the south.[27] From the high point, the land sloped away at a 9 percent grade to the north, east, and west to form a plateau. Beyond the plateau in the north, however, the grade rose to 24 percent in the final 70 feet (21 m) before it reached Rock Creek.[33] Beneath the thin topsoil of the plateau was mafic igneous rock: amphibolite; gabbro; metadiorite; and tonalite with inclusion of other minerals. The steeper slopes consist of The low and steeply sloped portions of the cemetery are comprised of Kensington granite-gneiss. This metamorphic igneous rock is coarse and highly foliated, and intrudes into the surrounding mafic rock and schist.[34] The grounds were a diverse collection of both steep and gentle hills, flat meadows, and natural bowls.[27][35] The grounds were densely covered with white oak[16][36][26] and eastern white pine trees.[37]

The Oak Hill Cemetery Company was incorporated by Congress on March 3, 1849.[31][30][f][38] A four-member Board of Managers was established to oversee Oak Hill's operations. Congress identified the cemetery's boundaries as the northern boundary of Georgetown to the south (R Street NW), the William M. Boyce property to the west (now Montrose Park), Rock Creek to the north, and the property of the heirs of Lewis Grant Davidson (the Evermay estate) to the east. These were 15 acres (61,000 m2),[39][40][41] and the cemetery's land ownership was limited to a maximum of 50 acres (200,000 m2).[39] The name of the cemetery was taken from the large oak trees that stood on the property.[42][43] Corcoran met with the Board on April 7, and presented them with $2,000 ($73,248 in 2024 dollars) to begin construction.[44][45] On May 1, 1849, Corcoran donated the title to Oak Hill Cemetery to the Oak Hill Cemetery Company.[31][g][30][46] By May 8, a wooden fence had gone up to enclose the property.[44]

Constructing Oak Hill

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Determining the history of Oak Hill Cemetery between 1848 and 1869 is difficult because the cemetery was so poorly managed. The cemetery did not hire a superintendent until October 1851, when John A. Blundon assumed the position.[47] The bylaws specified that the board hire a secretary (to keep records) and a treasurer (to keep accounts), but in 1851 hired (at no pay) a single individual, local miller Lorenzo Thomas, to handle both positions. He resigned on October 18, 1851, after the first auction of lots. He was replaced by local attorney Walter S Cox, who was paid $150 a year to perform both jobs. Cox resigned in 1854, and local insurance executive Henry King assumed both positions.[47] Subsequent management did not improve. Few books were kept, the cemetery was managed very loosely, and the Board engaged in little oversight.[48] King resigned in 1865, and was replaced by insurance clerk James W. Deeble.[49] Meanwhile, the Board failed to meet from 1857 to 1861.[50] By 1869, according to the Historic American Buildings Survey, "the trustees had lost control over the affairs of the cemetery".[48]

It is known that William Wilson Corcoran continued to be a major benefactor of Oak Hill. He donated $9,400 ($344,266 in 2024 dollars) from 1850 to 1853 to construct the gatekeeper's house and the chapel, and another $3,580 ($131,114 in 2024 dollars) from 1852 to 1853 to construct a stone fence and iron railing to enclose the cemetery. Corcoran also gave $24,175 ($885,422 in 2024 dollars) to have the grounds landscaped and terraced, and for paths to be constructed.[19] According to the Daily Evening Star, Corcoran donated another $9,575 ($350,675 in 2024 dollars) to a trust fund to maintain the cemetery.[46] On top of this, Corcoran made a donation of $79,840 ($2,924,060 in 2024 dollars) for other sundry other purposes.[19] Between 1869 and 1889, Corcoran made an additional $54,000 ($1,765,800 in 2024 dollars) donation.[51] By the time he finished making donations, the cemetery had a $90,000 ($3,052,000 in 2024 dollars) endowment.[52]

The surveying, clearing, landscaping, and laying out of paths and plots at Oak Hill were the paramount concerns after the cemetery's incorporation, but nearly all of these issues were handled by Corcoran and not the Board of Managers. Sources note that it was William Wilson Corcoran, not the Board of Managers, who hired Captain George Francis de la Roche to survey the property and design the cemetery grounds.[32][53][54][55][35][42][56][h][57] The date of de la Roche's hiring is not clear, but by May 15 he had surveyed the grounds, assembled a work crew, and already begun some landscaping.[58] De la Roche was a captain in the United States Navy,[10] and a well-known civil engineer.[59] He had worked as a draftsman in the office of the Chief of the Bureau of the Yards and Docks, and William P.S. Sanger had worked with him as a civil engineer.[60] It was Corcoran, not the board, who instructed de la Roche to design a garden cemetery.[29][44][56] Gerard Moeller and Boris Feldblyum noted that de la Roche's design was in a "fashionably romantic manner over terraced land".[57] Paths and roadways throughout the cemetery were named after flowers, shrubs, and trees.[47]

Corcoran also paid for and oversaw the construction of the initial structures at Oak Hill. Once more, it was Corcoran and not the Board which hired Gilbert Cameron to provide stone for the Gatekeeper's House, gates, and chapel. Cameron was a silent partner in the firm of James Dixon & Co., which quarried red sandstone at the Seneca Quarry in Maryland. The cost of this material was $4,336 ($158,802 in 2024 dollars).[61] An octagonal, brick, two-story receiving vault (now known as the Carriage House) began construction in 1850. It lay at the bottom of a ravine (now Western Avenue and Carriage Avenue) near the cemetery's border with Rock Creek,[62] and was nearly completed by April 1854.[46] Storm sewers were cut into the rock and soil to carry groundwater away from the cemetery and into Rock Creek, and a 15 feet (4.6 m)* high retaining wall was built along Rock Creek to stabilize the steep slope there.[63][45] Cemetery superintendent Blundon had a plant nursery constructed near the main gates, where customers could purchase flowers and shrubs for planting at grave sites.[64] In time, Blundon also kept a selection of inexpensive (and sometimes rather ugly) grave markers near the front gate, which the cemetery offered for sale to customers.[45]

Preparation of the grounds required the removal of rock to create terraces,[33] particularly along the steep slopes along Rock Creek.[52] That required blasting with gunpowder. On May 15, 1851, a serious blasting accident occurred at the cemetery. Workman Lewis Payne's hand was shattered in the blast, and surgeons believed the hand needed amputation. Workman Dennis Dacy was also injured, and suffered serious eye damage.[65]

Gatekeeper's House

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There is no documentation to prove it,[32] but historians generally agree that de la Roche also designed the Oak Hill Cemetery Gatekeeper's House as well.[53][42][40][i][66] De la Roche laid out Glenwood Cemetery in 1854,[67] and he designed a gate (never built) for that cemetery which indicates he had both interest and capability in designing gates and gatehouses.[32] Stone for the structure was supplied by Gilbert Cameron of the firm of James Dixon & Co.[61]

The Gatekeeper's House was built in either summer 1849[40][42][45] or 1850[68] in the Italianate style with irregular massing,[57][68] although it has some Gothic Revival elements as well.[69] The structure was roughly 68 feet (21 m) long on its south and north facades, and 40 feet (12 m) deep north-to-south. The east side of the structure consisted of offices, was two stories high, and capped by a bell tower. It measured roughly 35 feet (11 m) north-to-south by 20 feet (6.1 m) east-to-west. The main entrances were in the southeast corner, giving access to the street and (when the gates were locked) to the interior of the cemetery. The western section contained the living quarters. This section originally measured about 15 feet (4.6 m) east-to-west and 35 feet (11 m) north-to-south.[70] The foundations of the Gatekeeper's House were brick, and a water table made of stone ran about 18 inches (46 cm) above grade. Interior and exterior walls were of brick, and red sandstone was used for crown moldings, window sills, steps, and other decorative items.[71] Fireplaces existed in the first floor office, second floor bedroom above the office, the large first floor parlor, and the second floor bedroom above the large first floor parlor.[72] The gabled roof was covered in grey slate.[73]

The first floor of the office section originally consisted of a main office on the north, approximately 13 by 15 feet (4.0 by 4.6 m), and a hallway and staircase on the south, approximately 18 by 12 feet (5.5 by 3.7 m). A door at the west end of the hall connected the office and residence sections of the structure. The second floor contained a bedroom above the office and a small 2.5 by 2.5 feet (0.76 by 0.76 m) storage room beneath the bell tower. The ground floor of the residence section originally consisted of two parlors, with the northern one being about half the size of the other. Most of the floors in the Gatekeeper's House were pine, with hardwoods used near the entrances.[74] The interior walls were all plaster over lath.[72]

Additions were made to the gatehouse beginning in September 1867.[75] A third story was added to the office section, wrapping around the bell tower. A two-story addition added two rooms (one on the first floor, one on the second) to the living quarters, and a single-story kitchen wing was added to the two-story addition. The two-story addition measured about 15 feet (4.6 m) east-to-west and the single-story kitchen about 18 feet (5.5 m) east-to-west, while both structures were roughly 35 feet (11 m) long on north-south side.[70] The third floor addition to the office section added a room above the bedroom. The two-story addition to the residence section added a dining room on the ground floor, with an open staircase leading up to the second floor in the eastern wall of the dining room. A door in the western wall of the dining room led to the kitchen addition.[74] A one-story "file vault" addition was added on the north side of the northeast corner, and a bay projected from the "file vault" eastward.[70] The bay was approximately 8.5 by 11 feet (2.6 by 3.4 m).[74] Where the office and living sections came together, a wooden shed was built on the north side of the Gatekeeper's House.[70]

Two additional structures were added near the Gatekeeper's House in the 20th century. The first of these was a two-story brick building which served as a supply house. Situated northwest of the Gatekeeper's House against the western boundary of the cemetery, it was about 33 feet (10 m) long on the east-west side and 18 feet (5.5 m) deep. It had three bays, and a hip roof of grey slate. Its interior walls were tongue and groove boards, and a staircase in the middle of the structure gave access to the second floor. A post-World War II two-car garage roughly 25 by 25 feet (7.6 by 7.6 m) square was later added to the east side of the supply building.[76]

A bell originally was placed in the bell tower of the Gatekeeper's House in 1850. The original bell was removed in 1993, and was placed on a small pedestal inside the cemetery east of the main gates.[77]

A brick sidewalk was constructed in front of the gatekeeper's house. The brick was set in a herringbone pattern, and had a bluish Potomac gneiss curb. The house was screened by several oak trees. As of 1969, a private garden existed west of the structure.[76]

The main gate and fencing

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The main gate to Oak Hill Cemetery was constructed adjacent to and east of the Gatekeeper's House. Most sources suggest that James Renwick, Jr. designed the main gates,[35][78][79][80][81][54][66] although at least two sources attribute them to de la Roche.[57][82] The gates strongly resemble those Renwick designed for the Smithsonian Institution Building.[79][83][84][j][82]

The main gates consist of a 5-foot (1.5 m) wide pedestrian gate and an 11-foot (3.4 m) wide vehicular gate. The gates themselves are of heavy black wrought iron. The gates are attached to three square, red sandstone pillars. A blind round-arched window is carved into the south (street) side of each pillar. Smooth-columned pilasters with Corinthian capitals exist at the southeast and southwest corner of each pillar. Each gate pillar is topped by machicolation and a cove molding.[72] Small iron traffic bollards, about 1-foot (0.30 m) high, are placed at the inside corner of each pillar to the vehicular gate to protect the gates from behind hit by automobiles.[76]

The fence is about 8 feet (2.4 m) high and made of heavy, black wrought iron. The design of the fence was copied from the fence at Mount Auburn Cemetery.[85][54] The pointed finials of the fence resemble papyrus buds or palm buds. Each section of the fence is about 12 feet (3.7 m) long. The fence is set in grey granite blocks about 13 inches (33 cm) high.[76]

Stone for the gateposts was supplied by Gilbert Cameron.[61] The ironwork for the gates and fences was manufactured by James P. Gardner, owner of a Boston ironworks,[86] who also supplied the granite footings for the fence.[85]

The fence was designed in October 1851,[84][54] and erected in 1853[87] at a cost of $8,000 ($292,992 in 2024 dollars).[45] Oak Hill Cemetery replicated the iron main gates in 1869, and erected a second iron gate at R and 28th Streets NW.[87]

Chapel

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Main article: Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel (Washington, D.C.)

The other major structure to be built at Oak Hill Cemetery in the early years was the chapel, designed by architect James Renwick, Jr.[35][57] Renwick received his first major commission, the design for Grace Church in New York City, in 1843 when he was just 25 years old. He received a wide range of commissions for religious structures over the next seven years, and in 1846 was named the chief architect and designer of the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C. He was widely known as the greatest practitioner of Gothic Revival in the United States at that time, and a significant promoter of Romanesque Revival architecture.[88]

Most sources date the chapel's construction to 1850,[89][90][40][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][81][43] although a few put it a year earlier in 1849.[35][98][k][99] Renwick based the chapel on designs and buildings by architect Augustus Pugin,[97] and the chapel is the only example of a Renwick-designed Gothic Revival church in the District of Columbia.[92][43]

The chapel sits on the highest ridge at Oak Hill Cemetery.[100] Stone for the structure was supplied by Gilbert Cameron.[61]

The west-facing,[101] single-story Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel is 23 feet 2 inches (7.06 m) wide by 41 feet 2 inches (12.55 m) long. It is oriented slightly off-center on an east-west line. Buttresses 2 feet (0.61 m) deep exist on all four sides of the structure. There are four bays on each long side, and one bay on each end. The foundation is of stone, and a water table runs 1 to 2 feet (0.30 to 0.61 m) above the grade, depending on the slope. The walls are of bluish Potomac gneiss[102][43] (although some blocks show a green or yellow tint), each about 4.5 to 9 inches (11 to 23 cm) high, set in random courses. A five-sided, 5-inch (13 cm) high belt course of red Seneca sandstone runs beneath the window sills. The bell-cot, buttress caps, cornice, finials, frieze, and window frames are all red Seneca sandstone as well. The stone walls are all load-bearing, and the floor is supported by wooden joists. The wooden roof is constructed over wooden trusses,[99] and shingled in grey slate.[102] The main door is a set in a two-step lancet arch frame flanked by two 6-foot (1.8 m) high columns. A wrought-iron gate decorated with strapwork and leaves was installed in front of the wooden door in 1895.[99]

The interior has a 50-inch (1.3 m) high dark wood wainscot. Above the wainscotting, the walls are plaster painted a very light yellow. Decorative wooden moldings, in the form of lancet arches, frame the top of each window.[102] The roof trusses divide the ceiling into four bays. The bottom of each truss is carved, so that as it meets the opposing truss a pointed arch is formed. The area framed by each truss is further divided into six squares by rafters. (A half-square exists at the bottom and top of these areas.) Within each square, a chamfered quatrefoil is cut, so that one can see the vertical boards of the roof through the quatrefoil. A floral appliqué is centered in each quatrefoil.[103] In the eastern wall is a large rectangular stained glass window. The window depicts an angel holding a wreath in each hand. The asymmetrical tracery above the main window frames glass sections containing a cross, crown with palm frond, four crowns without palm fronds, and an Alpha and Omega. The rose window in the west is predominantly green, but has such heavy mullions that little light comes through.[104] Commemorative plaques dot the walls. Little of the original furniture remains, except for two heavy wooden chairs in the Gothic style (set on either side of the altar). The pews, altar, and lectern are all much more recent.[104] The chapel is lit by two six-branch metal chandeliers. Originally gas, they are now electric and covered in gold paint. Four small trapdoors give access to the crawlspace beneath the chapel, where the modern, natural gas-powered furnace is located. (Six small grates cut into the floor allow hot air to flow into the chapel.)[101]

A concrete forecourt, about 24 by 48 feet (7.3 by 14.6 m) in size, occupies the area immediately before the front entrance. A slightly curved brick-paved driveway is west of the forecourt, and permits vehicles arriving via the asphalt-paved road south of the chapel to pull up in front of the forecourt. Boxwood bushes screen the foundation of the chapel,[101] and the ivy which climbs its walls came from cuttings taken from Melrose Abbey in Scotland.[52]

As early as 1886, Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel was recognized as one of the most important stone structures in the United States.[105] The Historic American Buildings Survey called the chapel "a miniature Gothic gem" in 1969.[92] Architectural historian Ellen J. Schwartz commented, "Renwick's skillful use of contrasting sandstone and gneiss, as well as the fine proportions of the structure, make this diminutive chapel one of the most pleasing religious buildings in Georgetown."[100] As late as 1972, the chapel as well as its site "remained virtually unchanged" since the chapel was built.[106]

Operational history of the cemetery

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It was clear from the size of Oak Hill Cemetery, and from the general positive impression made by the cemetery on the public, that a large number of burials would be made at Oak Hill. This greatly alarmed Louis Mackall, a Georgetown physician. In 1850, Mackall published Oak Hill Cemetery, or a Treatise on the Fatal Effects Resulting from the Location of Cemeteries in the Immediate Vicinity of Towns. Mackall asserted that the number of anticipated burials would create significant health hazards for the city, including noxious odors that would permeate the air and poisonous effluent that would taint the groundwater. Mackall's treatise created an uproar in the city. Although no action was taken against Oak Hill by the government of Georgetown. But in the Federal City, the council enacted legislation that barred the establishment of new cemeteries and all new burials within the boundaries of the city.[107]

Georgetown attorney and judge John Marbury was the first president of the Oak Hill Cemetery Association. On October 7, 1851, the cemetery began advertising lots for sale, with the first auction of lots occurring on October 17.[56][108] Most lots were 300 square feet (28 m2) in size,[108][109] although some were smaller.[108] Lot size was limited to 300 square feet (28 m2) to make them affordable to the middle class. Some plots were larger, however, to provide for the erection of mausoleums.[109] Each grave site was 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, which allowed three interments to exist in a single grave.[110] The very first interment was that of Eleanor Ann Washington, daughter of George C. Washington.[111] The cemetery hoped to obtain about 40 cents per square foot, or $120 per lot ($4,395 in 2024 dollars).[108] Initially, the cemetery association required payment in cash. This proved too onerous for most buyers, so more lenient terms were permitted.[44] The cemetery association subsequently permitted buyers to pay one-third of the auction price within five days, and the remainder at six and nine months (with interest). Lots 1 to 15, 50, 124, and 125 were reserved.[108][l]

Annual board meetings were held in October 1851[108] and June 1852.[112] With much of the cemetery's land unsold by early 1854, the cemetery association leased 2 to 3 acres (0.0081 to 0.0121 km2) of empty land as a garden to any willing taker.[113] The receiving vault was nearing completion by mid-1854 when the board held its next publicly advertised meeting on June 13.[114] By the following October, nearly all prepared lots in the cemetery had been sold. The Evening Star reported that the gatekeeper's house was undergoing enlargement at this time (although this may have been continuing construction).[55]

By the end of 1854, most of the construction at Oak Hill Cemetery was complete. This included the chapel, gatekeeper's house, gates and fence, and receiving vault. It also included roads, a heavy retaining wall along the cemetery's boundary with Rock Creek, and the broad terraces blasted from the bedrock to level the steep slopes in the area. Also installed were extensive surface gutters, which led to a large number of underground storm sewers.[63]

Success in the early 1850s

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The Historic American Landscapes Survey called Oak Hill Cemetery "a phenomenal success" in the years after its founding. It was not merely aesthetically pleasing, but Corcoran's position in society helped to make the burial ground attractive to the socially well-connected and wealthy. As some of the city's richest families built tombs and mausolea at Oak Hill,[m][42] media attention focused on the cemetery as well—further enhancing the cemetery's reputation. Meanwhile, the financial health of Congressional Cemetery faltered due to this competition. Congressional had long touted itself as a quasi-official burial ground for important government officials, and it used this reputation to attract federal funding with which the cemetery was further developed. Now those funds slackened appreciably as politicians and career bureaucrats sought burial at Oak Hill instead.[66][n][115]

The founding of Oak Hill Cemetery also had a significant impact on nearby Presbyterian and Methodist cemeteries. Located about 1,000 feet (300 m) southeast of Oak Hill, the Methodist Cemetery could not compete with the new, superbly designed burying ground. At this time, only whites could be buried at Oak Hill, while Methodist Cemetery was racially integrated. The social cachet of Oak Hill, coupled with white racism, caused whites to forego burial at Methodist Cemetery in favor of Oak Hill.[116] Beginning in 1850, the remains of at least 45 whites were disinterred from the Methodist Cemetery, and most were reinterred at Oak Hill.[117] Soon, nearly all interrals at Methodist Cemetery were African Americans.[118][o][119] Although the Presbyterian Burying Ground was not racially integrated and thus did not suffer disinterrments based on racism, a number of disinterrments occurred. Presbyterian Burying Ground was not well-maintained, and the markedly higher social cachet of Oak Hill led many wealthy families to moved the remains of loved ones to the new cemetery. Indeed, many of the early 19th century monuments and graves at Oak Hill were moved there from Presbyterian Burying Ground.[42]

Major funerary monuments also began to be built at Oak Hill. In March 1855, builder and stonemason Henry Parry constructed a large brown mausoleum at the cemetery and then advertised the mausoleum and its lot for sale.[120] The next advertised board of directors meeting took place in June 1856.[121] That same year,[122] William Wilson Corcoran hired architect Thomas U. Walter to design a mausoleum for his family.[123][p][124] The edifice was completed in October 1857.[125] Corcoran joined more than 400 others who had purchased lots by 1857. The cemetery spent $6,000 that year and had a staff of six regular workers to maintain the grounds. The grounds were not yet fully terraced or sodded, but cemetery officials believed they would be by the end of the year.[126]

With construction complete, Corcoran largely ceased to provide oversight of Oak Hill Cemetery.[63]

Expansion and mismanagement

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Map showing Oak Hill Cemetery in 1887, depicting eastward expansion.

In June 1862, the Oak Hill Cemetery Board of Trustees met from the first time since 1856. Corcoran, long absent from cemetery affairs, accepted election to the Board of Managers. But Corcoran was in a delicate position: A lifelong Democrat, he opposed slavery and supported the Union. But many people suspected him of Confederate sympathies, and his daughter was married to George Eustis, Jr., a Confederate diplomatic official. Corcoran's estate and art gallery had been seized by the federal government for war purposes, and his private home only barely escaped a similar fate. Corcoran decided to leave the United States for the duration of the war. He converted his fortune into cash (pounds sterling) and left on October 8, 1862, for the united kingdom. Corcoran attempted to have the shareholders approve a plan to seat his private secretary, Anthony Hyde, as his proxy on the Board, but this plan was defeated.[127]

Sales of lots continued. By March 13, 1867, all lots at Oak Hill had been sold. With pressure to build more lots high, Blundon converted many of the footpaths and roadways in the cemetery to lots, and sold them as well. By June 1868, more than 7,500 lots had been sold.[128]At some point after Corcoran's departure, the cemetery also acquired property across River Road for the purpose of establishing a stoneyard and selling funerary monuments.[129]

Under pressure to expand, in mid-1865 the Oak Hill Board of Managers purchased 8 acres (32,000 m2) of land from the Evermay estate due east of the cemetery grounds. Evermay was owned by Elizabeth Grant Davidson Dodge, the great-grandniece of Everymay's founder, Samuel Davidson.[130] She married Charles Dodge in 1849. The Dodges sold the land to Oak Hill for $8,000 ($159,235 in 2024 dollars).[128][131] Corcoran learned of the purchase upon his return to the United States in September 1865. Corcoran, who had been re-elected to the Board of Managers despite his long absence, now began to actively participate in Oak Hill affairs again. The board purchased another 7 acres (28,000 m2) of Evermay in September 1867 for $10,000 ($218,000 in 2024 dollars).[128][75][132] Corcoran asked the board to pay $1,000 an acre rather than a lump sum, and to have the land surveyed to ensure that they were in fact receiving seven acres. Corcoran then sailed for France to attend to his ailing daughter, Louise (who died in December).[128][133] When Corcoran returned to the United States in January 1868, he discovered that his recommendations had not been acted on and the board had purchase the land for a lump sum without a survey.[128][q][134]

In June 1868, William P.S. Sanger, a former United States Navy captain and civil engineer, was elected to the Board of Managers.[135][136] Sanger designed an addition to the gatehouse the previous year,[75] which probably won him election to the board.[137] Sanger's ally was George W. Beall, elected to the board in 1866.[137][138] Corcoran gradually learned of the land purchases and other changes made at Oak Hill in his absence. He was particularly upset with the way Blundon had chopped down many mature trees throughout the grounds, the shoddy way monuments had been erected (with many toppling over), and the indecorative manner in which burial plots had been laid out. But with his political position in the capital still insecure, Corcoran did little to challenge Blundon and Sanger. Rather, he supported Sanger's plan to immediately lay out burial plots in the newly purchased section of the cemetery.[138]

In the spring of 1868, Corcoran hired his own surveyor to examine the two Evermay purchases. The surveyor discovered that the land purchase made in 1865 consisted of 3.25 acres (13,200 m2), rather than the 6 acres (24,000 m2) contracted for. The 1867 land purchase consisted of 4.09 acres (16,600 m2) rather than the 10 acres (40,000 m2) contracted for. All told, with the original 12.4 acres (50,000 m2) donated by Corcoran, Oak Hill owned a mere 19.84 acres (80,300 m2).[137][138] In July 1868, Corcoran offered to build a retaining wall along Mill Street (also known as Monroe Street, and today known as 27th Street NW). Corcoran left for a summer vacation, and the board declined to act on his proposal—at cost to the cemetery. When Corcoran returned, he learned that the engineering firm Sanger had hired to lay out burial plots had (on Sanger's orders) neglected to measure them. Blundon was unable to provide Corcoran with accurate sales records and accounts, an accurage inventory of the cemetery's tools, or even the name of its employees. Accountant Henry King, ill (and, in fact, dying), admitted the books were in such disarray that an accurate statement of the cemetery's financial health was not possible. When Corcoran offered to pay for an accountant to assist King, the board voted his proposal down.[139]

Then, on November 14, 1868, John Marbury resigned due to extreme ill health and age. Beall and Sanger voted to make Corcoran president, possibly to appease him. Board secretary James W. Deeble then refused to release the account books to Corcoran without a vote of the board. Secretary Sanger and Beall then appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd, the highly influential vice-chair of D.C.'s Board of Public Works, to fill the vacancy left by Marbury's resignation.[140] Outraged, Corcoran went public in January 1869 with his accusations of fraud and mismanagement against Sanger.[141][142] Realizing their predicament, Sanger, Beall, and Shepherd voted to appoint a five-person committee to investigate the financial affairs of the cemetery. One of the members was Corcoran's private secretary, Anthony Hyde. But lotholders demanded a meeting of the shareholders, and Corcoran convened this meeting on February 15.[143] Determined not to be defeated at a shareholder's meeting ever again, Corcoran obtained more than 100 proxies from shareholders in Georgetown, which his agents wielded effectively on the floor during the meeting.[144] Beall proposed at the start of the shareholder's meeting that the board-appointed committee be replaced with a shareholder-appointed group. Joseph H. Bradley, one of the board-appointed investigators, moved to strike Beall's motion for a new committee. Corcoran declined to speak during the shareholder meeting. But Hyde offered to resign from the board-appointed committee if Bradley would withdraw his motion. A motion from the floor was made and adopted to this effect, and Hyde was replaced with John C. Harkness.[143]

The investigating committee had extensive powers, which included the right to hear witnesses and take testimony (which Corcoran duly took full advantage of). It also appointed a surveyor to measure the lots, and create a list of those individuals elgible to vote at the next shareholder's meeting on May 25.[145] The investigating committee's report was damning: The board had not examined the account books since 1849; nearly $12,000 ($274,680 in 2024 dollars) was owed to the cemetery, which the treasurer had failed to collect; the board had mismanaged the 1865 purchase of land, and then sold burial plots on land which it did not own; and the board had colluded with a stoneyard across Road Street to give kickbacks to the cemetery superintendent. The committee largely absolved the superintendent, who made errors in judgement rather than engaged in behavior with criminal intent.[146][147] At the annual shareholder's meeting on June 7, during which a new Board of Mangers would be elected, Corcoran held 125 proxy votes.[148] Corcoran's written charges to the investigating committee appeared in full on the front page of the Daily National Intelligencer the day of the meeting.[149] Balloting took nearly five hours. When Corcoran's right to vote was challenged, his supporters and opponents nearly came to blows. At the end of the balloting, Corcoran was re-elected to the Board of Managers alongside his supporters Henry D. Cooke, M.W. Galt, and P.T. Berry.[150][151]

Blundon was fired the next day, and Daniel Barker (formerly an assistant superintendent at the Experimental Garden of the United States Department of Agriculture) hired as superintendent. Corcoran was elected the board's president, a position he held until 1872.[151]

Growth after the Civil War

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By 1865, several thousand interments had occurred at Oak Hill.[152]

By 1878, more than 12,000 lots had been sold, and more than 4,000 burials made.[30]

In 1869 an investigation into the affairs of the Cemetery was called "because a committee of Trustees became aware that the company records afforded no- account of the origins of the cemetery." At the time, they knew that W. W. Corcoran had donated the land, "but decided that the origins of the cemetery should he recorded and that the original contributions should be officially entered in the account books. The company apparently was very loosely organized and few books were kept. The investigating committee found many thousands of dollars in unpaid rents and notes, which they resolved to collect. In addition, they came across a controversy revolving around an addition to the gatehouse. This addition to the gatehouse was .authorized in September, 1867. When the Board authorized the work, only a front elevation .was presented and no scheme for a dining room was included. The work was to be limited to $2,000, but the contract price came to be $2,500, and subsequently there was an additional appropriation for $500. The investigating committee called in the architect, a Mr. Phelps, for questioning. In Mr, Phelps' testimony he recounted that he made two plans for Oak Hill; one showing the old building and the other the proposed alterations. The object was to show the Board of Managers the altered condition as compared with the old. [48] Further testimony of another architect, a Mr. Frederick, indicated the upper part of the tower was so bad—the timbers were rotten—that the . ~r tower had to be taken down. The contractor also stated that he had had to buy new timbers, make folding doors to "!<-~ the dining room, and build a stairway, none of which were called for in his contract; he received no remuneration for this work. [153]

by 1878, only two major freestanding mausoleums: Van Ness, moved there in 1872 from H Street NW; and Corcoran [109] Van Ness vault below is eight feet deep, in three tiers Oak Hill Chapel is plain gothic, covered in ivy, with a notable rose garden beside it [154]

grandest mausoleum is the Corcoran - Intelligencer octagonal Doric temple of white marble standing on a prominence over a burial vault in the earth below designed by Thomas U. Walter, architect of the capitol nearby is a roman piller dedicated to W.W.'s father, Thomas Corcoran, and his wife nearby, a plain octagonal shaft dedicated to Thomas Corcoran, Jr., W.W.'s brother, on a symmetrical die [123]

grandest mausoleum is the Corcoran - Sundayr Chronicle eight columns, marble dome cricular path, prominence a dozen tall oaks stand around it [155]

With cost of mausoleum ...... 13,000 ($457,800 in 2024 dollars) [51]

The tomb which was later erected above this grave was modeled upon the small Temple of Vesta in Rome. The round, tower-like vault was of brick covered with plaster. Its roof was a dome supported by twelve columns. The beauty of this mausoleum brought admiring comment from the throngs who came to inspect it. It now stands in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, and it contains, probably, also the remains of Marcia's parents and brother. The Heiress of Washington City: Marcia Burnes Van Ness, 1782-1832 Author(s): Frances Carpenter HuntingtonSource: Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., Vol. 69/70, The 47thseparately bound book (1969/1970), pp. 80–101Published p. 99

The Carrolls purchased Lot 292 in Oak Hill on March 5, and the first interments in a new vault in the northwest and the first interments -- William Thomas Jr, age 23, died on January 29, 1857, and Howard Carroll age five died on Feb. 21 -- were made in May. In 1861, the remains of an infant son, William Cuyler Carroll, were placed there. [156]

Capt. Boyce and his daughter placed in vault Local Intelligence September 1, 1855 Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), DC) Page: 3

Much of this building was carried on by speculators who would buy up several vacant lots, sometimes no more than one or two, as the original Georgetown lots averaged around 70 by 150 feet, more or less, then lay out a small so-called subdivision on which could be put a number of 20-foot-front houses. In some cases these were as little as twelve feet wide. It was this type of building that worried Miss Loulie Rittenhouse, who in 1904 circulated a petition to have the Montrose estate on R Street, then on the market, purchased by the Federal Government to be made a public park and playground. It took seven years but in 1911 Miss Loulie had her park, which with Oak Hill Cemetery and Dumbarton Oaks forms a wooded barrier between Georgetown and the City. Miss Loulie was also fighting to save Rock Creek from a scheme to convert it into a sewer, and pave it over. Happily this was dropped when, in 1915, Q Street was cut through and connected with the City via the "Buffalo Bridge" over the Creek, thus opening a fifth east-west artery through the town. Georgetown: The Twentieth Century, a Continuing Battle Author(s): Mathilde D. WilliamsSource: Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., Vol. 71/72, The 48thseparately bound book (1971/1972), pp. 783–796 p. 784

By 1867 the gatehouse had undergone several changes from its original"design, The foundations of the upper part' of the tower had rotted and the tower had to be removed; the roof of the building was raised one additional story;, and a two-story addition &-&Q containing a dining room and a second stairway was added. [157]

Corcoran paid to have John Payne Howard disinterred in Tunisia and reburied in the United States at $7,000 reinterred June 9, 1883, before President Chester Arthur, the entire Cabinet, numerous generals and colonels music by John Philip Sousa Archibishp of Maryland William Pinkney officiated [158]

Lorenzo Dow originall at Holmead's Cemetery, reburied here 1884 [159][160]

Notable monuments: Bishop William Pinkney (1883), sculptor unknown[161] Spencer Monument (1928), Tiffany Studies - 12 feet high and six fee wide bas relief angel with upheld arms and spread wings in granite[162] John Howard Payne (1882) Moffit and Doyle - ordered by Corcoran; one and a half life size; two weeks after interment, a rumor that Payne never had a beard led the cemetery to incorrectly have beard chiseled off[163] John A. Joyce (1913), sculptor unknown[164] Amor Caritas (1897), Augustus Saint-Gaudens - the memorial to Joseph E.Willard, US ambassador to Spain from 1913 to 1921; bronze tablet in bas relief shows angel holding up a tablet[165]

Linthicum-Dent Mausoleum no records as to who designed it or when it was built, but first interment occurred there in 1862 built of Seneca red sandstone [87]

Morrison mausoleum built in 1889 lot 216 architect and sculptor J.F. Manning angel with outspread arms, bunting inscribed with "There Shall Be No Night There" The mausoleum was most likely constructed in 1889 soon after the death of David L. Morrison (1827-1888) who was first interred within. The architectural style of this mausoleum is typical of several hundred found in Washington cemeteries [166]

A monument was placed October, 1835, in front of the church against the wall between the main entrance doors. It now rests over the remains at Oak Hill Cemetery, partially covered with ivy. It is of white marble. When the Church was razed in the early part of 1873, the remains were re-interred in the Presbyterian cemetery, on Thirty-third street, near the Chapel. William W. Corcoran requested in the spring of 1874 that he be permitted to make a removal to the Oak Hill Cemetery The removal was made June 18, 1874. The site is near the Swiss Chapel and in the chapel is a mural tablet under the direction of Mr. Corcoran bearing this inscription Rev. Stephen Bloomer Balch, a Pioneer Preacher of Georgetown Author(s): Allen C. ClarkSource: Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., Vol. 15 (1912), pp. 73–95 p. 94

The cemetery does not directly border Rock Creek, but it did until 1932, when the National Park Service acquired the northernmost portion of the property as part of the development of Rock Creek Parkway. The creek has played an integral role in the cemetery's formation, and the site's western ravine and the eastern swale are part of the creek's watershed, facilitating surface drainage. [134]

currnet 1934 informal planting follows that of de la Roche [167]

FLO spoke highly in 1882 of the planting scheme, and the way it developed over time. The papers of Frederick Law Olmsted. Author: Frederick Law Olmsted; Charles Capen McLaughlin; Charles E Beveridge Publisher: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983 0801827515 http://books.google.com/books?id=UTHSAQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA131&dq=Roche%20%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q=Roche%20%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22&f=false p. 119

brown stone family vault with 22 slots overlooking Rock Creek will sell low For Sale in Oak Hill Cemetery May 5, 1857 Paper: Daily National Intelligencer (Washington (DC), DC) Volume: XLV Issue: 13964 Page: 3

trust fund invested in stocks and safe funds 400 lot owners otday about $25,000 invested more than $100,000 expended on funerary monuments by lotholders since 1851 more than $50,000 in marble slabs annual budget for upkeep is $6,000, employing five or six hands large portion not yet laid out, but should be by this summer Local Intelligence May 13, 1857 Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), DC) Page: 3

will be June 1, 1857 Election Notice May 27, 1857 Paper: Daily National Intelligencer (Washington (DC), DC) Volume: XLV Issue: 13984 Page: 3

sale of lots raised $30,000, and $20,000 invested Local Intelligence June 8, 1857 Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), DC) Page: 3

blundon now super by at least oct 1854 [55]

Blundon has but three helpers amount earned from digging graves covers all expenses except Blundon's a large number of monuments went up this year Georgetown Affairs October 17, 1857 Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), DC) Page: 3

will be June 7, 1858 Election Notice May 29, 1858 Paper: Daily National Intelligencer (Washington (DC), DC) Volume: XLVI Issue: 14296 Page: 3

on June 1, 1860 Election Notice. May 29, 1860 Paper: Daily National Intelligencer (Washington (DC), DC) Volume: XLVIII Issue: 14917 Page: 3

on June 3, 1861 Election Notice. May 29, 1861 Paper: Daily National Intelligencer (Washington (DC), DC) Volume: XLIX Issue: 15226 Page: 3

vandal broke several of the stained glass windows. Georgetown. July 1, 1861 Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), DC) Page: 4

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the "big five" of Washington's white cemeteries were Oak Hill, Rock Creek, Congressional, Glenwood and Mount Olivet [168]

chapel renovated: new parquetry floors, stained glass windows, gas radiators for heating, plumbing, wall decorations [169]

20th century

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positive revenue of $12,000 over expenditures 9,526 interments in the prior year "Notes of the Cemeteries." The American Florist June 29, 1901 p. 1686 http://books.google.com/books?id=B2U7AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&pg=PA1686#v=onepage&q&f=false

the Board of Managers is hereby granted authority to alienate, transfer, sell, or otherwise dispose of any real property owned by the Oak Hill Cemetery Company which has not been set aside or used for burial or interment purposes and which is separated from the ground set aside and used for burial purposes by a public street.[170]

With the advent of power mowers, all the steep banks of Oak Hill were mowed, and much of this beautiful garden is now at the bottom of the Potomac. When the writer put a stop to some of the ruthless mowing at Oak Hill, ferns, hosta, day-lilies, and spring bulbs, which had survived the decades of mutilation, reappeared. When they were allowed to mature, Oak Hill got a springtime reward: hillsides blue with scilla, polka-dotted carpets of crocuses, snow drops, wild tulips, Dutchman's breeches. When allowed to go to seed, these beauties spread and thickened. Against their greenery, the grasses are forlorn. But to many, the masses of ferns, hosta, and day-lilies that come back when the mowing stops are ragged and disorderly. Many mourn the loss of the crew-cut cemetery. [54]

"striking" views of "thickly clustered" monuments [42]

As of 1999, the Gatekeeper's House was still used as the cemetery superintendent's residence and office.[68]

Governance

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By Act of Congress dated March 8, 1848, Oak Hill Cemetery is governed by the nonprofit Oak Hill Cemetery Company. The Company's shareholders are those individuals (and their heirs) who have purchased single lots in the cemetery for burial purposes.[39] (In 1852, the Board of Managers attempted to deny the right to vote to anyone who held less than 300 square feet (28 m2).)[112] At least 20 shareholders (in person or by proxy) are required to meet once a year, and elect a four-person Board of Managers. Members of the board must be residents of the District of Columbia. The Board of Managers elects one of its number to be President. The board has the authority to hire officers, oversee the finances of the company, oversee the operations of the cemetery, and make temporary replacements to the board in the case of death, resignation, vacancy, or removal (e.g., failure to reside in the District of Columbia).[39]

Section 1 of the Act set the minimum size of lots at 300 square feet (28 m2). Section 10 of the Act forbids the cemetery company from selling any property whatsoever.[39] On July 2, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law legislation amending Section 10, allowing the Board of Managers to dispose of property not used for burial purposes so long as that property was separated from the cemetery by a public street. (This enabled the cemetery to sell a plot of land on the south side of R Street NW which it no longer needed.)[170][129]

Cemetery size

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Richard Plummer Jackson 36 acres by 1878 [30] 1878: 36 acres Historic graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia, with the inscriptions appearing on the tombstones in most of the counties of the state and in Washington and Georgetown; Author: Helen West Ridgely Publisher: New York, Grafton Press [©1908] http://books.google.com/books?id=81odAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA247&ots=H1DYYBSHWK&dq=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&pg=PA247#v=onepage&q=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&f=false p. 247

35 acres "Cemeteries." Stoddart's Encyclopaedia americana; a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature, and companion to the Encyclopædia Britannica. (9th ed.) and to all other encyclopaedias. Vol 1. Publisher: New York, Philadelphia, [etc.], J.M. Stoddart, 1883 http://books.google.com/books?id=JZBMAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&pg=PA761#v=onepage&q=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&f=false p. 761

Elizabeth Moore Chapin sadi 30 acres in 1887 [37]

30 acres [171]

25 acres 1898 [52]

25 acres [93]

25 acres 18,000 burials [172]

35 acres [173]

50 interments a year in 1999 [174]

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Cahpter 63 occurs in it The inner circle Author: Brad Meltzer Publisher: New York : Grand Central Pub., 2011. 9780446577892 http://books.google.com/books?id=mmp18PHk7ZQC&pg=PT13&dq=%22Oak+Hill+Cemetery%22+DC+acres&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RFd6U9neCsGnyASV3oDACw&ved=0CFgQ6AEwAzge#v=onepage&q=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&f=false

chapter 1 occurs in it The Camel Club Author: David Baldacci Publisher: New York : Warner Books, 2005. 9780759515246 http://books.google.com/books?id=mmp18PHk7ZQC&pg=PT13&dq=%22Oak+Hill+Cemetery%22+DC+acres&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RFd6U9neCsGnyASV3oDACw&ved=0CFgQ6AEwAzge#v=onepage&q=%22Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%22%20DC%20acres&f=false p. 1-2

Notable interments

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SecWar John Eaton SecNav William H. Hunt BrigGens St. John B. Skinner, Frank S. Stratton, C.C. Carroll, R. E. Clary, Joseph E. Barnes, A. B. Dyer, Setlr Eastman, J.C. McFerran, George D. Ramsey, E.G. Beckwith, Charles L. Thomas, O.E. Babcock, John A. Campbell, Horace Capron, George C. Thomas, Adna Anderson, W. Maynadier, William McKee Dunn, John Garland Rear Admirals G.H. Scott, C.H. Poor, Theodorus Bailey, Fabius Stanley, John Rodgers, Charles Wilkes, C.K. Stribling, Stephen P. Quackenbush, S.P. Carter Vice Admirals Joseph Smith, R.H. Wyman, L.M. Powell, John R. Beaumont, Madison Yarnell, Stephen C. Rowan "In Oak Hill Cemetery" Washington Evening Star May 30, 1891 Page: 6

James Thompson, U.S. Marine Corps general, revol war patrio, whiskey rbellion, paymaster of USMC The late Gen. Jas. Thompson, (of Washington) October 31, 1856 Paper: Daily National Intelligencer (Washington (DC), DC) Volume: XLIV Issue: 13807 Page: 3

john marbury philip and katherine graham [78] rear of chapel Major George Peter p. 248

Commodaore Beverly Kennon moved here on April 18, 1874 from Congre Cem Samuel Sprigg, former gov of MD, also moved here p. 249

Salmon P. Chase s U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States. originally buried here but disinterred in 1886 [175] his headstone taken with him, but discarded in Cincinnati [176]

Alexander Ray, lived on F Street NW and owned flour mill in Gtown Recollections of Our Neighbors in the First Ward in the Early Sixties Author(s): Albion Keith ParrisSource: Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., Vol. 29/30, [The 29thseparately bound book] (1928), pp. 269–289 Published p. 280

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References

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Notes
  1. ^ An Episcopal burying ground, it did not accept non-church members until 1871.
  2. ^ When initially established, the District of Columbia encompassed a square 10 miles (16 km) on each side. The "Federal City", or "City of Washington", was not at that time expected to fill the entire district, however. To encourage development and the appearance of a thriving urban center, the boundaries of the Federal City were the Potomac River, Rock Creek, Boundary Avenue NW and NE (now Florida Avenue), 15th Street NE, East Capitol Street, and the Anacostia River. Beyond the Federal City was the County of Washington. Georgetown was a distinct entity from both. All three entities merged into a single unified governmental entity in 1908.
  3. ^ Montrose consisted of three parcels, purchased by Parrott between 1804 and 1813. Montrose was famous for its gardens.
  4. ^ Colonel Ninian Beall was the original patentee for the Rock of Dumbarton. His son, Thomas Beall, inherited the property. Beall then subdivided the land. Except for Parrott's Woods, all the land was sold for residential purposes. Thomas Beall's daughter, Elizabeth Washington, inherited Parrott's Woods. Her son was George Corbin Washington.
  5. ^ The land owned by George C. Washington and his son was roughly bounded by Rock Creek and Massachusetts Avenue NW on the east; Observatory Circle on the north; Wisconsin Avenue NW on the west; and R, 30th, and Q Streets NW on the south.
  6. ^ The bill was introduced into the House on January 25, 1849, and passed unanimously the following day. The Senate passed it unanimously on March 3. In his last day in office, President James K. Polk signed it into law as Public Law 59.
  7. ^ It is unclear whether Corcoran concealed his role in creating Oak Hill Cemetery. Jackson wrote in 1878 that Corcoran's role was not fully known until 1869 that his donations of land and money came to light. But the Daily Evening Star reported on Corcoran's role as early as 1854.
  8. ^ Moeller and Feldblyum note that there is "some evidence" that landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing also contributed to the cemetery's design, but they do not elaborate further.
  9. ^ The alternative designer, suggested by the Historic American Landscapes Survey, is James Renwick, Jr.
  10. ^ One source claims the gates are actually a re-use of the materials for the Smithsonian gate. But Kohler and Carson point out that Corcoran had a specific contract with Gilbert Cameron for stone for the Oak Hill main gates, which precludes the re-use theory.
  11. ^ The cornerstone is inscribed with the date 1850, although that may be indicative of its dedication rather than construction.
  12. ^ Lots 1 to 15 belonged to the Corcoran and Eustis family. Lot 50 was given to the George Corbin Washington family. Lots 124 and 125 went to the Chapman and Dodge families, respectively.
  13. ^ These families include those most associated with Georgetown: Abbott, Beall, Linthicum, Magruder, Marbury, Orme, Poe, and Thomas.
  14. ^ The founding of secular Glenwood Cemetery in 1854, the Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery in 1858, and the Lutheran Prospect Hill Cemetery in 1858 also had a significant impact on Congressional Cemetery. These were "garden" cemeteries like Congressional, and their establishment "changed [the] dynamics of cemeteries in the city", according to the Historic American Landscapes Survey. Rock Creek Cemetery, which formerly accepted only Episcopalians for burial, also opened its doors to all comers in the 1860s, and likewise had a detrimental impact on Congressional's financial health.
  15. ^ On May 24, 1879, the all-black Mount Zion United Methodist Church obtained a 99-year lease (for $1) on the Methodist Cemetery, and the burial ground was renamed Mount Zion Cemetery.
  16. ^ The granite for the mausoleum was supplied by the Robert I. Brown Company of New York City. The finial atop the mausoleum, which depicts a cherub pointing to heaven while standing near an empty vase, was carved by Isaac Broome of Philadelphia and cost $500. Nicholas Acker, a local stonemason, dug the vault and laid the foundations for the mausoleum. Brown also supplied the granite for and sculpted the funerary monuments to Thomas Corcoran, William Wilson Corcoran's father, and Thomas Corcoran, Jr., William's older brother. Corcoran also paid for the erection of a decorative headstone to his father-in-law, U.S. Navy Commodore Charles Morris. All three monuments were raised near the Corcoran mausoleum.
  17. ^ The land purchases brought Oak Hill Cemetery up to the border with Mount Zion Cemetery/Female Union Band Cemetery.
  18. ^ Originally interred at Georgetown Presbyterian Church at 30th and M Streets NW; disinterred and reburied at Presbyterian Burying Ground in spring 1873; disinterred and reburied on June 18, 1874, at Oak Hill Cemetery.
  19. ^ It is not clear if Yulee converted before his marriage to Nancy Christian Wickliffe or on his deathbed. Nor is the documentary evidence clear if he was seated in the U.S. before or after his reported conversion to Christianity. The more accurate description of Yulee would be to note that he was the first U.S. Senator of Jewish heritage. The first openly professing Jew to be seated in the U.S. Senate was Judah P. Benjamin of Louisiana.
Citations
  1. ^ Benedetto, Du Vall & Donovan 2001, p. 184.
  2. ^ Kelly 1945, p. 17.
  3. ^ Warner 1994, pp. 3, 234 fn. 1 and fn. 2.
  4. ^ Sixteen Revolutionary War Heroes and Patriots Honored by District Daughters 1959, pp. 231–232, 346.
  5. ^ Bailey 2000, p. 62.
  6. ^ Roberts & Schmidt 2012, p. 7.
  7. ^ Richardson 1989, pp. 307–308.
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