| Oakdale Memorial Gardens | |
|---|---|
 Entrance Gates | |
 Interactive map of Oakdale Memorial Gardens | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1856 |
| Location | 2501 Eastern Ave. Davenport, Iowa |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Independent |
| Owned by | Oakdale Memorial Gardens |
| Size | 78 acres (32 ha) |
| No. of graves | over 24,000 |
| Website | Official website |
| Find a Grave | Oakdale Memorial Gardens |
| The Political Graveyard | Oakdale Memorial Gardens |
Oakdale Cemetery Historic District | |
   | |
| Coordinates | 41°32′48″N90°32′57″W / 41.54667°N 90.54917°W /41.54667; -90.54917 |
| Architect | George F. de la Roche A. N. Carpenter Clausen & Kruse Israel Hall Edward Hammatt W. H. Kimball Robert H. Nott John W. Ross Seth J. Temple Nathaniel Tunnicliff Philip Tunnicliff Raymond C. Whitaker |
| Architectural style | Art Nouveau Egyptian Revival Gothic Revival Modern Neoclassical Romanesque Revival Richardsonian Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 15000194[1] |
| DRHP No. | 56[2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 5, 2015 |
| Designated DRHP | November 25, 2015 |
Oakdale Memorial Gardens, formerlyOakdale Cemetery, is located in east-centralDavenport, Iowa. It contains a section for the burial of pets called the Love of Animals Petland. In 2015, the cemetery was listed as anhistoric district on theNational Register of Historic Places, and as a local landmark on theDavenport Register of Historic Properties.[2] It is also listed on the Network to Freedom, aNational Park Service registry for sites associated with theUnderground Railroad.[3]
Oakdale was established as a non-profit cemetery by a group of Davenport businessmen as an alternative to the overcrowded Davenport City Cemetery and the for-profitPine Hill Cemetery.[4] It was incorporated as the Oakdale Cemetery Company May 14, 1856. The cemetery board hired Captain George F. de la Roche, who had finished the design ofOak Hill Cemetery inWashington, D.C. five years earlier, to complete the design and platting of the cemetery.[4][5] It was designed as a rural or garden cemetery, but it transitioned to a landscape-lawn cemetery beginning in the late 19th century.[6] It covers more than 78 acres (32 ha).[7] The first numbered burial at Oakdale was that of three-month-old Mary Larned Allen on September 15, 1857, though several earlier burials were recorded at a later date, some from as early as October, 1855.[8] Some of the graves in the cemetery had been transferred from the overcrowded City Cemetery in the west end. The cemetery is located across Eastern Avenue from the formerIowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, and it contains the graves of the orphans that died at the home. There are also at least 11 graves of former slaves who escaped to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad, which led to its inclusion on the Network to Freedom.[9]
Two special receiving vaults were built in the cemetery, although neither exists anymore. A brick vault was constructed in 1873 for those who died in the winter when the ground was frozen. A wooden vault was built next to it in 1918 because of the large number of deaths as a result of theSpanish flu epidemic.[8]
The cemetery entrance is marked by a set of monumental gates, designed in theArt Nouveau style by Davenport architectEdward Hammatt in 1895. Construction of the gates was completed in 1896.[10]
The cemetery is also home to several private mausoleums. William D. Petersen was the son of J.H.C. Petersen who founded a department store in Davenport that has becomeVon Maur. He also was responsible for the development of the city's riverfront and built theLeClaire Park Bandshell there. His mausoleum was designed in theGothic Revival style by Davenport architects Rudolph Clausen & Walter Kruse. It was inspired by his wife Sara's desire for a tomb similar to the ones she saw in Europe. It was constructed by Presbrey Leland ofValhalla, New York in 1921 for $60,000.[11] The exterior is composed oflimestone fromGreece. The interior features crypts that were carved from Greekmarble and a ceramic tile ceiling that was designed and completed by theGuastavino Tile Company ofWoburn, Massachusetts.
Joseph W. Bettendorf was an industrialist for whom the city ofBettendorf, Iowa is named. His mausoleum was built in 1923 in theEgyptian Revival style for $150,000.[11] Its exterior is composed ofBarre Granite fromVermont. The interior features crypts carved from white marble and Egyptian-inspiredstained glass windows.
The mausoleum built for Johanna Schricker, widow of Davenport lumber magnate Lorenzo Schricker, was designed in theNeoclassical style by Davenport architectJohn W. Ross. It was built by theVermont Marble Company in 1899 at a cost of $6,489. The inspiration for the structure was the North Portico of theWhite House in Washington, D.C.[11] Its exterior is composed of Sutherland Falls white marble and features a bronze roof supplied by the Winslow Brothers ofChicago.
There is a Soldiers' Lot near the center of the cemetery,[12] which is administered by theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.[13] At one time 174 soldiers were buried at Oakdale, including the first Iowans to die in theCivil War at theBattle of Fort Donelson.[14] Most of the bodies were transferred in 1888 toRock Island National Cemetery orKeokuk National Cemetery. The remaining 14 soldiers' graves were moved to theGrand Army of the Republic (GAR) plot in 1900. The plot was transferred from the GAR to the cemetery association in 1940 and the United States government took possession of it the following year. Today it contains the remains of 71 soldiers from the Civil War andSpanish–American War.[14]
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