Oak Lawn Cemetery is a cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Oak Lawn Cemetery | |
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Details | |
Established | 1865 |
Location | 1530 Bronson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 41°09′50″N 73°16′26″W / 41.16389°N 73.27389°W |
Size | <100 acres |
No. of interments | <10,000 |
Website | https://www.oaklawnct.com/ |
Find a Grave | Oak Lawn Cemetery |
History
editIn 1864, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized Captain Jonathan Godfrey to purchase twelve acres near Bronson Road for "no more than $12,000". On December 29, 1865, the Oak Lawn Cemetery Association was incorporated.[1] The oak was regarded as a symbol of immortality in the 19th century and there was a white oak tree across the street from the parcel at Bronson Street.[1][2] Captain Edwn Sherwood served as the first president of the Oak Lawn Cemetery Association from 1865 to September 1886.[1]
Sturges Ogden was charged with the care of the white oak in 1818. The David Ogden House was renovated in 1935 and opened to visitors to the cemetery.[3][4]
In 1866, sixteen people were buried at Oak Lawn. In 1867, 46 people were buried. More than half of the first 170 burials were transferred from the West Burying Ground.[1] As of 1881, there were 435 burials at Oak Lawn.[5]
As of May 2006, Oak Lawn Cemetery includes the remains of "nearly 10,000 people" and was "almost one hundred acres".[1] As of 2015, the cemetery had over 1,200 veterans remains.[2]
In 2021, a memorial of two granite towers on top of a pentagon granite structure was built in honor of 9/11 victims.[6]
Notable burials
edit- Hugh D. Auchincloss (1858–1913), merchant and businessman[citation needed]
- Frederic Bronson (1851–1900), lawyer[citation needed]
- Mario Dal Fabbro (1913–1990), sculptor, furniture designer, and author[7]
- Michael J. Daly (1924–2008), U.S. Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient[citation needed]
- Charles I. DeBevoise (1872–1958), U.S. Army officer and Distinguished Service Medal recipient[citation needed]
- John H. Esquirol (1900–1970), bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut[8]
- Mary Tyler Moore (1936–2017), American actress[9]
- Jason Robards (1922–2000), American actor[9]
- James C. Shannon (1896–1980), judge and governor of Connecticut[10]
- Franco Ventriglia (1922–2012), opera singer[11]
- Mabel Osgood Wright (1859–1934), American author[citation needed]
See also
editExternal links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "History – Oak Lawn Cemetery". oaklawnct.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ a b "Town Receives Donation for Historic Cemeteries". Fairfield, Connecticut. December 7, 2015. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ MacRury, Elizabeth Banks (1960). This is Fairfield, 1639-1940. pp. 90, 132. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Deming, Wilbur Stone (1963). The First Church of Fairfield. p. 76. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Archive.org.
- ^ History of Fairfield County, Connecticut. 1881. p. 341. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Archive.org.
- ^ "New memorial dedicated to 9/11 victims seen in Fairfield". news12.om. September 10, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ "Find a Loved One". Oak Lawn Cemetery & Arboretum. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "State Mourns Death of Bishop Esquirol". Hartford Courant. January 5, 1971. p. 6. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Mary Tyler Moore laid to rest in Connecticut". Chicago Tribune. January 30, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ "James Shannon Dies at 83; Former Governor, Judge". Hartford Courant. March 8, 1980. p. 4. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Francis "Franco" Ventriglia". legacy.com. December 5, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2022.