Oakland Cemetery: The Near Loss
Founded in 1853 on a wooded tract outside St. Paul, Oakland Cemetery quickly grew into a carefully planned, nondenominational resting place, expanding over time to include adjoining burial grounds and sections set aside for veterans, immigrants, and the poor. Its grounds reflected the diversity of the community it served—Civil War soldiers, firemen, Chinese laborers, German Lutherans, and many others, each with a place among the trees.
But in 1891, everything nearly vanished.
A bill was introduced proposing the complete closure of Oakland Cemetery. The land would be purchased by the city, every grave disinterred, and the entire site converted into a public park.
The reaction was immediate and fierce. Lawmakers warned it would “stab the hearts of the people” and bring “widespread horror.” Even those open to closure for health reasons rejected the idea of disturbing the dead. The proposal ultimately failed—but only after coming perilously close to reality.
Instead of destruction, Oakland endured—and even grew. By 1905, additional land brought it to its present size, preserving not just graves, but the layered history of a community that had nearly been uprooted.
Today, Oakland is recognized as the oldest cemetery in the Midwest—not because it was untouched, but because, at a critical moment, it was saved.
Sources - St. Paul Daily Globe Tuesday Feb 17 1891, Vol. 13 Page 4 Saint Paul, Minnesota and Oakland Cemetery History at oaklandcemeterymn.com/History.html