Oak Lawn Cemetery (Fairfield, Connecticut)

Oak Lawn Cemetery is a cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Oak Lawn Cemetery
Map
Details
Established1865
Location
1530 Bronson Road,
Fairfield, Connecticut
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°09′50″N 73°16′26″W / 41.16389°N 73.27389°W / 41.16389; -73.27389
Size<100 acres
No. of interments<10,000
Websitehttps://www.oaklawnct.com/
Find a GraveOak Lawn Cemetery

History

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In 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

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Grave of Mary Tyler Moore at Oak Lawn Cemetery

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "History – Oak Lawn Cemetery". oaklawnct.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ MacRury, Elizabeth Banks (1960). This is Fairfield, 1639-1940. pp. 90, 132. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Archive.org.
  4. ^ Deming, Wilbur Stone (1963). The First Church of Fairfield. p. 76. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Archive.org.
  5. ^ History of Fairfield County, Connecticut. 1881. p. 341. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Archive.org.
  6. ^ "New memorial dedicated to 9/11 victims seen in Fairfield". news12.om. September 10, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Find a Loved One". Oak Lawn Cemetery & Arboretum. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "State Mourns Death of Bishop Esquirol". Hartford Courant. January 5, 1971. p. 6. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. 
  9. ^ a b "Mary Tyler Moore laid to rest in Connecticut". Chicago Tribune. January 30, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "James Shannon Dies at 83; Former Governor, Judge". Hartford Courant. March 8, 1980. p. 4. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. 
  11. ^ "Francis "Franco" Ventriglia". legacy.com. December 5, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2022.