Oakland Cemetery in Warsaw was surveyed and platted by John G. Fonda in 1855 and quickly put into use soon after the closing of the original city burial ground which was located in the 900 block of Main Street about where the Henerhoff Ball Park is today. The Warsaw Board of Education planned to erect a public school on the lots on the southern portion of the Main Street property and petitioned the City Council to have the public burial ground relocated. The council agreed to have the city burial ground moved to a more suitable location and a company was formed which still exists today, known as the Oakland Cemetery Co. For several years after the completion of the public school in 1856 bodies were still being exhumed and reburied in the new cemetery. For various reasons some still remain today at the old burial ground.

The original blocks of Oakland Cemetery were laid out to the west of the main gate. Originally starting with three sections, it soon became full as most of the original sales of burial plots were purchased in 12 grave sections, or family plots. The original records show the price being $10.00 per block. It was also ordered that a section be set aside and reserved for single graves, the price being $2.00 per grave. This area became known as potters or paupers hill. Today, sadly most of this area is filled with unknown or unmarked graves.

In 1861 most of the roadway was extended further west and four more blocks were opened up for sale. The tradition of buying family plots continued as many of the sales were for 12 grave blocks. Improvements to the grounds continued and by 1875 all the area west of the main gate had been surveyed and divided.

Not long after the four new block area was added in the 1860's the War of the Rebellion was shifting into high gear. Just like every other community in this area Warsaw was losing some of her sons in the conflict to preserve the Union. The cemetery company set aside several blocks of graves so if the family couldn't afford it at least the soldiers would receive a proper burial. Soon after the war the Arthur W. Marsh veterans post was formed and with assistance of the Grand Army of the Republic fund 100 plots were purchased for the veterans. Today the rows of white shiny markers stand in perfect rows that resemble a unit of soldiers standing at attention. A block of 100 graves just east of the main gate now serves as a veteran's burial plot. Plans are underway for a monument to be placed in this area as a tribute to all veterans who have served their country. To date there are 310 military veterans buried in Oakland Cemetery.

As time marches on some traditions change. Burials are handled much differently today than years ago. State law now requires remains to be placed in a concrete container, where as before the remains were buried in just the casket or wooden box. The old cemetery records mentioned in some cases a vault rental of $5.00. In asking a former cemetery caretaker, I found that the stone structure built into the hillside near the main entrance was the vault that was rented. The rental was charged mostly in the winter months and was for storage of the body till the ground thawed or conditions improved. As all grave work was done manually then sometimes it was impossible to get trough the frost line. The iron rods that once supported the racks for the caskets to be stored are still in place in the old vault.

Another tradition that has changed is Decoration Day or now Memorial Day. The practice of decorating graves is still the same, however in looking back the day set aside for honoring the war dead was usually an all day affair. A program, usually starting at 10 o'clock always would include several speakers. A large picnic was held afterward and was usually well attended and lasted most of the afternoon. On the spot where these activities took place a shelter or rest house was constructed in 1916 with a bequest from the Roesler family. It remains today and is used mainly for storage.

Several people living near the area in the late 1800's told stories of grave robbers visiting Oakland Cemetery. Most of the information was passed off as just tales and rumors until an incident just east of Warsaw revealed some facts that later verified the tales. The incident in question occurred on the Andrus farm, which was located along the old Warsaw Road in Wilcox Township. The owner of the property William Andrus surprised three men in the process of stealing the body of a farmhand who had just been buried the day before in a private family plot on the farm. Andrus unloaded a double barrel shotgun on the grave robbers who returned fire. Two of the robbers were badly wounded during the shooting and one man John Brown gave a deathbed confession in front of Dr. Robinson of Warsaw and the Andrus family. In the testimony Brown confessed that for eight years previous he and his associates had in fact used Oakland Cemetery in Warsaw for grave robbing expeditions. It was always rumored that these incidents were linked to the Keokuk Medical College, which was always in need of specimens for research.

A bizarre and now humorous lawsuit is recorded in the cemetery records of 1888. It seems two families had unknowingly purchased grave lots adjoining the other. The problem was an almost Hatfield and McCoy relationship existed between the two families. As fate would have it one deceased family member was mistakenly buried in the wrong grave, which was of course on the other family's plot. The cemetery board offered to correct the mistake by trading the family another gravesite on the block opposite their plot. This offer was soundly refused and the family filed a lawsuit to have the body and the headstone removed from the site. The cemetery company was found to be at fault and the remains were exhumed and the stone moved but not to the original site. The family had made arrangements and traded for a block of graves on the opposite end of the cemetery or as one can witness today, about as far away as they could get from each other. The Warsaw Bulletin reported the incident, with a little humor stating, "In this grave situation the presiding judge had stood monumental throughout.

In looking back through the records of the Oakland Cemetery the names reflect much history of this area. Some arrived with the United States Third Infantry under then Major Zachary Taylor and built Fort Edwards in 1814 and 1815. After the army abandoned the outpost in 1824 several stayed on, among them were Isham Cochran and Major John Wilcox. The latter being one of the original founders of the town of Warsaw. The cemetery took a direct hit in 1999 from a tornado and miraculously through all the downed tree limbs and debris only one headstone was broken, that of Major Wilcox. The nearly 160-year-old stone could not be repaired so a new marker, which closely resembles the original, was set later that summer. Major Wilcox died in 1840 at 40 years of age leaving a young widow and two children. The young Mrs. Wilcox later married Thomas Sharpe, then editor of the Warsaw Signal newspaper, which played a key role in the Mormon troubles of the 1840's and 1850's. Several men suspected of murdering Joseph and Hiram Smith at the jail at Carthage are buried in the Oakland Cemetery. Five Warsaw men were indicted for the murders but were acquitted. In researching the accounts of the incident it becomes apparent that the secret of the murders probably lies buried in Block 6 of Oakland Cemetery.

Among the Civil War veterans buried at Oakland Cemetery two attained the rank of General. Gen. Martin Flood after the war spent 8 years as Supt. Of Public Works for the City of New Orleans, La. On a trip upriver stopping at Warsaw, Flood found the area to his liking. After a year he moved to Warsaw and built a large brick home on an area called College Hill. After Flood's death the home was purchased by Conrad Nagel and later by Joseph Hubinger. The other General Oliver Edwards has the only above ground vault in the cemetery. During the war Edwards became closely associated with Gen. Phil Sheridan. In fact the two men were eating breakfast at camp in Winchester Va. when Sheridan received news that his troops were engaged in heavy fighting at Cedar Creek a few miles to the west. The two men remained friends and communicated often after the war. Edwards became successful after the war in manufacturing and purchased the old Roosevelt mansion, which stood near Clark St. in Warsaw.

Another of Warsaw's Civil War heroes buried in the cemetery is Capt. Milton Brawner. As a young officer in the 7th Mo. Cavalry Brawner was put to the test at the battle of Lone Jack Mo. a small town located some 20 miles south east of Kansas City. During the battle Maj. Emory Foster, commanding the 7th Mo. was dangerously wounded. This left Capt. Brawner to command the troops. Answering the call Brawner took charge and held the line for six hours of bloody fighting. As confederate reinforcements arrived from the west it soon became apparent that Brawner's 7th Mo. was soon to be outnumbered. The decision was made to retreat. In a last stand against the rebels the unit disabled one cannon and spiked another. It was later learned among the newly arriving confederate troops was Quantrill's Raiders. Known as "Yankee haters" their reputation would become known far and wide up and down the Missouri River. Among the outfit three names would later emerge in a different occupation. Two brothers Frank and Jessie James and Thomas Coleman Cole Younger became household names.

The Charles Hay family buried in Block 2 of Oakland Cemetery had some direct ties with the Lincoln White House. The youngest son, John left Warsaw to attend Brown University. He later would become private secretary to President Lincoln and later Secretary of State under Presidents Roosevelt and McKinley. Hay was also editor of the New York Tribune and had many poems published. John Hay is the only member of the family not buried in Oakland.

Another of political fame buried in Oakland would be Benjamin F. Marsh. Serving nine years a U.S. Congressman, Marsh played a key role in several projects in the area, among these the hydroelectric dam here in Keokuk. Marsh owned a large home, which was located directly across from the Ft. Edwards monument. Among the visitors to the Marsh home was friend Samuel Clemens who would on occasion stroll through Ralston Park sometimes "stirring quite a ruckus" as, reported by the Warsaw Bulletin.

Some of the early business people and merchants can be recognized by some of the more unique and large grave markers in the cemetery. Several different members of the Hill family have markers that reflect the success achieved in the early days of Warsaw. Another successful in business was the Knox family. The Hill and Knox woolen mill, a large operation supplied clothing and uniforms for the military. The two families also were involved in the distilling business for many years. Since 1864 members of the Hill family along with another family named Dodge have been associated in the banking business. The bank in Warsaw still operates today under the name Hill-Dodge Banking Co.

The Albers family operated the Grace Flour Co. a once thriving operation along Warsaw's riverfront. Clause Albers built the first mill in 1856 and operated with his son Charles until the 1920's.

The Schott brothers started an early brewing operation along the riverfront in the 1840's. The brew was stored and cooled in caves built into the bluffs, which are still intact today. A large stonewall and the caves are the only reminder of this early business.

Rudolph Giller later started a more modern brewery in 1861. Later it became known as Popel-Giller brewing company and later Warsaw Brewing Corp. One of the last burials in the Giller family plot was a granddaughter, Olivia Ross, who ironically died on the same day the brewery shut down on Feb 7, 1972.

Another early family to shape Warsaw was the Worthen family. Several members of the family were successful merchants in the grocery business. Amos Worthen, the family patriarch, was for 30 years Illinois State Geologist. Mr. Worthen also served as curator of the state museum for several years. In a visit to Springfield and Lincoln's home I was told an interesting story by one of the guides for the National Park Service. After learning I was from Warsaw the guide said he had read Worthen's extensive studies and writings about Illinois geology. During the reconstruction of the Lincoln home in the late 1980's while tearing out the inside walls geodes from the Keokuk and Warsaw area were discovered by the workers. The mystery of how these geodes ended up in the walls of the Lincoln home goes as follows: Amos Worthen had a residence about a block away from the Lincoln family. As the Lincoln children would often play along the street it is believed Worthen gave the shiny quartz objects to the Lincoln boys who probably dropped the rocks into the walls, only to be discovered many years later.

As you walk through the old part of Oakland you will also find many of the early merchants of Warsaw. Names like Eckbohm, Dross, Roth, Brinkman, Eymann, Wisch and many more. These capable individuals built a busy main street in a time when horses and buggies would line the streets. Today we think nothing of driving to regional shopping centers or a large discount house to find everything under one roof. These old time merchants made customer service a priority, which is often in short supply today. Most small towns will show the effects of the change in shopping habits by the empty buildings on a once thriving Main Street. And Warsaw is certainly no exception.

These are just a fraction of the stories behind some of the people buried at Oakland Cemetery. In fact there is a story to be told of everyone who now rests there. The current number of burials is 3451.

In 1992 a program was developed to set aside funds for the replacement of footings and grave markers. Over the course of time many of the footings deteriorate causing the stones to become unstable and often lean or fall over. This program can be called a success now 13 years later as you will have difficulty in finding and stone leaning or laying over in the cemetery.

The most recent addition came in 2001 as 73 flagpoles were installed throughout the cemetery to create an avenue of flags. This makes for an awesome sight as you enter the cemetery on holidays when the flags are waving in the breeze.

As you enter the main gate to the right the original old part tell of past Warsaw. Monuments stand below towering spruce and mighty oak trees, some three hundred years plus in growing. The headstones are of prominent businessmen, political figures, steamboat captains, and harness and wagon makers. Workers on the railroad, streetcars, brewery and distillery, shoe factory, button cutters, trades that seem ancient in today's world. As you drive out of the old section to the east and into the new section the road becomes lined with sugar maple trees and the headstones smaller and more uniform in rows. This tells of the more recent way of life, mostly working class folks, but a yet a memory and story behind each monument.