Oakwood Cemetery (Niagara Falls, NY)
Encyclopedia
Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York
was founded in 1852 after land was donated by Lavinia Porter. It covers over 18 acres (1 km²) and over 19,000 are buried there. Notable graves include first person to travel over Niagara Falls in a barrel Annie Edson Taylor
, U.S. Representative Judge Augustus Seymour Porter
, and first person to swim the English Channel
Captain Matthew Webb
. Oakwood is seeking a position on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Historic Oakwood Cemetery was begun in 1852 on land donated by Lavinia Porter, daughter of Judge Augustus Porter
. The Judge was one of the acknowledged founders of Niagara Falls, and one of its largest landowners. The original layout of the cemetery was designed by Civil Engineer T.D. Judah
. The Oakwood landscape we know today dates from a design drawn in 1882 by noted Niagara Falls civil engineer Drake Whitney (nephew to the three Whitney sisters for which "Three Sisters Islands
" are named.)
In 1913, Oakwood built a magnificent marble mausoleum, designed by the Buffalo architectural firm Green and Wicks. The Oakwood Mausoleum was built to the very highest standards with foot-thick walls of concrete covered by hand cut gray Vermont marble. The exterior features soaring stone columns supporting a centered entrance portico. Within were crypts for over 350 interred individuals, and the interior was faced and floored in white Vermont marble, lit by clerestory windows and two stained glass windows (one by Louis Comfort Tiffany
). Huge bronze doors enter into a chapel space centered in the mausoleum.
Oakwood would become the final resting place for families whose names are associated with the growth and development of Niagara Falls as a great industrial city and a world-renowned tourist attraction. Along with the Whitneys, these families include the Schoelkopfs of hydroelectric power fame, the Oppenheims, the Silberbergs, the Pfohls, the Haeberles, the Tattersalls, the Holleys, and both Porter brothers.
Among those buried at Oakwood, one finds Annie Edson Taylor
, the first person to travel over the falls in a barrel, Homan Walsh, the young kite flyer whose kite and progressively larger ropes sent the cable across the gorge for the suspension bridge, and the famed "Hermit of Goat Island". The cemetery also includes a memorial to "Comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic
", veterans of the Civil War.
Oakwood today contains many outstanding examples of funerary art including obelisks, sarcophogi, and beautiful statuary. Additionally, the landscape is lush with mature plantings and trees, many dating from the earliest time of the cemetery.
It continues to service the community with the crematory, columbarium, and gravesites, including newly available family plots formed by the expansion of previously smaller burial sites.
Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
was founded in 1852 after land was donated by Lavinia Porter. It covers over 18 acres (1 km²) and over 19,000 are buried there. Notable graves include first person to travel over Niagara Falls in a barrel Annie Edson Taylor
Annie Edson Taylor
Annie Edson Taylor was an American adventurer who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.-Early life:...
, U.S. Representative Judge Augustus Seymour Porter
Augustus Seymour Porter
Augustus Seymour Porter was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan.He was born in Canandaigua, New York, the nephew of Peter Buell Porter and attended Canandaigua Academy. He graduated from Union College, in Schenectady, New York, in 1818, studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced...
, and first person to swim the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
Captain Matthew Webb
Matthew Webb
Captain Matthew Webb was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours.-Early life and career:...
. Oakwood is seeking a position on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Overview
Having surpassed its 150th anniversary, Historic Oakwood Cemetery and the Oakwood Mausoleum are facing needs for the maintenance of this beautiful Niagara Falls, NY treasure. The Board of Directors of the Oakwood Cemetery Association voted unanimously in 2010 to embark on a restoration project for the cemetery and the mausoleum. Local, state, and National Register designations are being pursued to both protect the historic site and to make it eligible for public and private historic preservation grants. A historic landscape report will evaluate the cemetery grounds and recommend a plan for restoration and a historic conditions report will accomplish a similar goal for the Mausoleum.Historic Oakwood Cemetery was begun in 1852 on land donated by Lavinia Porter, daughter of Judge Augustus Porter
Augustus Porter
Augustus Porter , along with his brother Peter Buell Porter , purchased the land near Niagara Falls, United States at a public auction in order to open a grist mill and tannery around 1805...
. The Judge was one of the acknowledged founders of Niagara Falls, and one of its largest landowners. The original layout of the cemetery was designed by Civil Engineer T.D. Judah
Theodore Judah
Theodore Dehone Judah was an American railroad engineer who dreamed of the first Transcontinental Railroad. He found investors for what became the Central Pacific Railroad...
. The Oakwood landscape we know today dates from a design drawn in 1882 by noted Niagara Falls civil engineer Drake Whitney (nephew to the three Whitney sisters for which "Three Sisters Islands
Three Sisters Islands
The Three Sisters Islands are islands which lie off the west shoreline of Goat Island. The islands are part of Niagara Falls, New York.Accessible from Goat Island, the Three Sisters Islands are located just beyond the Canada/U.S. border in Niagara Falls, New York...
" are named.)
In 1913, Oakwood built a magnificent marble mausoleum, designed by the Buffalo architectural firm Green and Wicks. The Oakwood Mausoleum was built to the very highest standards with foot-thick walls of concrete covered by hand cut gray Vermont marble. The exterior features soaring stone columns supporting a centered entrance portico. Within were crypts for over 350 interred individuals, and the interior was faced and floored in white Vermont marble, lit by clerestory windows and two stained glass windows (one by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
). Huge bronze doors enter into a chapel space centered in the mausoleum.
Oakwood would become the final resting place for families whose names are associated with the growth and development of Niagara Falls as a great industrial city and a world-renowned tourist attraction. Along with the Whitneys, these families include the Schoelkopfs of hydroelectric power fame, the Oppenheims, the Silberbergs, the Pfohls, the Haeberles, the Tattersalls, the Holleys, and both Porter brothers.
Among those buried at Oakwood, one finds Annie Edson Taylor
Annie Edson Taylor
Annie Edson Taylor was an American adventurer who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.-Early life:...
, the first person to travel over the falls in a barrel, Homan Walsh, the young kite flyer whose kite and progressively larger ropes sent the cable across the gorge for the suspension bridge, and the famed "Hermit of Goat Island". The cemetery also includes a memorial to "Comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
", veterans of the Civil War.
Oakwood today contains many outstanding examples of funerary art including obelisks, sarcophogi, and beautiful statuary. Additionally, the landscape is lush with mature plantings and trees, many dating from the earliest time of the cemetery.
It continues to service the community with the crematory, columbarium, and gravesites, including newly available family plots formed by the expansion of previously smaller burial sites.
Notables buried here
- Annie Edson TaylorAnnie Edson TaylorAnnie Edson Taylor was an American adventurer who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.-Early life:...
, First person over the falls in a barrel - Carlisle D. Graham, First person to go through the lower rapids in a barrel
- Matthew WebbMatthew WebbCaptain Matthew Webb was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours.-Early life and career:...
, First person to swim the English Channel - Judge Augustus Seymour PorterAugustus Seymour PorterAugustus Seymour Porter was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan.He was born in Canandaigua, New York, the nephew of Peter Buell Porter and attended Canandaigua Academy. He graduated from Union College, in Schenectady, New York, in 1818, studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced...
, Niagara County Notables - Colonel Peter A. PorterPeter A. PorterPeter Augustus Porter was a U.S. Representative from New York, and grandson of Peter Buell Porter. Porter was the son of Mary Cabell Breckenridge and Colonel Peter A...
, Niagara County Notables - Speaker of the New York State Assembly Peter B. Porter, Niagara County Notables
- Homan Walsh, the 16 year old boy that flew his kite and connected the American and Canadian sides of the Falls so that the first Suspension Bridge could be built.
- Francis AbbottFrancis AbbottFrancis Abbott was an Australian astronomer.-Biography:Abbott was born in Derby, England and became a watchmaker there. In 1831 he moved to Manchester and manufactured timepieces and astronomical machinery. In 1844, he was found guilty of obtaining two watches under false pretenses, and was sent...
, also known as the "Hermit of Niagara". - LeRoy WilliamsLeroy WilliamsLeroy Williams is an American jazz drummer.Williams first began playing drums as a teenager in the 1950s. From 1959 to the middle of the 1960s he played with Judy Roberts, and following this he moved to New York City and played with Booker Ervin in 1967...
, Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient