Oakland Cemetery Fort Dodge

09/09/2024

On September 19th at 6 PM the Friends of Oakland Cemetery will have a silent auction table with items from Branson to South Dakota, Iowa Casino Stay & Plays and golf for 4 with carts plus much more at Brown Shoe Fit for the September Fit Night. On Friday September 27th we are having our "Stroll through the cemetery" Please park at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 1436 21st Ave N. A Dart bus will take you over to the cemetery and bring you back to your vehicle. The bus leaves at 5:45 SHARP. NO PARKING AT THE CEMETERY. Tour guides will take you around to several headstones and tell you a brief story about the person buried there. A FREE will offering will be at the cemetery. The silent auction table will also be out there to check on your bids. On Sunday September 29th at 2 PM at the Iowa Central Bio Science Building we are having our annual Oakland Cemetery Walk with live portrayers. Parking is available at Iowa Central College. Witness the dead come alive to tell their stories!! Tickets are $7. You can buy them at the door. The silent auction table will also be there. The silent auction will end on October 17th at 7 PM at Brown Shoe Fit for the final Fit night of the year. I hope you can attend one or all of the events. If you have any questions you can call Rick Carle @ 515-570-0606

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08/05/2024

The Annual Oakland Cemetery Walk is Sunday September 29th at 2 PM at the Iowa Central Bio Science Building. Tickets are $7.00 each. Come see the dead come alive!! We are having our stroll thru the cemetery on Friday September 27th at 6 PM. Park at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 1436 21st Ave. N. A Dart Bus will bring you over to the cemetery and take you back to your vehicle. NO parking at Oakland Cemetery PLEASE!! Bus leaves at 5:45 SHARP. A FREE will Donation will be at the cemetery. There will also be a table to bid on several items for a silent auction. The silent auction ends on October 17th at Fit night at Brown Shoe Fit. 210 S. 25th St at 7:30 If you have any questions call Rick Carle at 515-570-0606

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04/14/2023

Last fall the Friends of Oakland Cemetery had a headstone cleaning party and this Civil War monument was one that they cleaned. This is a before and after!

Here is some history about this monument:

On April 13, 1900 the local G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) post decided that a suitable monument was needed for the unknown Civil War soldiers buried in Oakland Cemetery. For many years a large dry goods box had served the purpose of a monument. The cost for the monument was $300. The post raised $100. The children of Webster County were asked by the post to contribute five cents each to the fund. The 8 local schools in Fort Dodge, plus the 107 country schools in Webster County donated the additional $200.
The red granite stone was purchased and William Po***ck, a local sculptor, designed and made the monument. Mr. Po***ck was also a Civil War veteran. He served in the 32nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry, one of two regiments that were formed in Ft. Dodge.
On Decoration Day in 1900 the city of Fort Dodge held a ceremony to unveil the monument. A procession formed at the courthouse under the command of General Blanden. Capt. Bennett was in charge of the 200 soldiers and Capt. John Scott with the 25 cavalrymen that were on horseback. The procession headed to Oakland Cemetery with the new Fort Dodge band playing many appropriate songs. The citizens of Fort Dodge joined in behind the procession.
At the cemetery, Capt. Ringland acted as president of the day. After a prayer by Rev. Wolcott, the band played while everyone sang along. The Iowa governor and Fort Dodge citizen C.C. Carpenter gave a moving speech. He said, “Everything of value secured by individuals, or nations, must be paid for by proportionate sacrifice. While these dead heroes had done their whole duty and were beyond the charge of unfaithfulness to trust it was not yet so with us. We have responsibilities to discharge and it is for us to be so mindful of them that what these men died for may be kept secure to humanity hereafter.”
After the conclusion of the unveiling ceremony, the ranks of Company G again formed and led the crowd to see the monument. The large crowd followed and found comfortable places to sit under the trees and on the grass. They ate their picnic lunches and walked around the cemetery before heading back into Fort Dodge. Many citizens said that this Decoration Day touched their hearts with its sad, solemn memories and will be remembered forever.

04/04/2023

In 1859 Edbert Bagg of Utica, New York was paid $150 to design Oakland Cemetery. At that time the Rural Cemetery Movement had started. Cemeteries had been in the middle of the towns and now were being built on hillsides on the edge of towns. It was a park like atmosphere to be used for picnics, walks, enjoying nature, as well as for mourning their loved ones. Oakland Cemetery is the resting place of many of Fort Dodge founders. It is home to over 60 Civil War Soldiers. In 1890 local sculptor, William Po***ck, used red granite to erect the Civil War Monument in memory of the unknown soldiers of the Union Army buried here. In 2000 Oakland Cemetery was put on the National Registry of Historic places. Jerry and Marva Rowe recorded the 7,700 people buried in Oakland. It is estimated there are over 500 people buried in Potter's field with only ten percent having markers. Jerry and Marva were the founders of the Friends of Oakland Cemetery and in 2003 started the annual Oakland Cemetery walk that continues today.

The goals of the Friends of Oakland Cemetery are:

1. Teach the history of Oakland Cemetery to all ages
2. Clean and repair headstones in the cemetery
3. Buy and install GAR medallions for Civil War graves
4. Encourage the public to volunteer & appreciate this historic cemetery