Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta)

Oakland Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Oakland Cemetery with the Atlanta skyline in the background
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Location	248 Oakland Avenue, SE, Atlanta, Georgia
Coordinates	33°44′55″N 84°22′17″W / 33.74861°N 84.37139°W / 33.74861; -84.37139
Area	48 acres (190,000 m2), 2 buildings, 31 objects
Built	1850
NRHP reference No.	76000627
Added to NRHP	April 28, 1976

Oakland Cemetery is one of the largest cemetery green spaces in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded as Atlanta Cemetery in 1850 on six acres (2.4 hectares) of land southeast of the city, it was renamed in 1872 to reflect the large number of oak and magnolia trees growing in the area. By that time, the city had grown and the cemetery had enlarged correspondingly to the current 48 acres (190,000 m²). Since then, Atlanta has continued to expand so that the cemetery is now located in the center of the city. Oakland is an excellent example of a Victorian-style cemetery, and reflects the "garden cemetery" movement started and exemplified by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts.

The original 6 acres (24,000 m²) of Oakland remains one of the oldest historical plots of land in Atlanta, most of the rest of the city having been burned in 1864. Because of its age and location, the cemetery directly reflects the history and changing culture of the City of Atlanta and the significant events it has seen. Names of Atlanta streets, buildings, parks, subdivisions, and more can be found within the cemetery gates. An estimated 70,000 people are interred at Oakland, and while the last plots were sold in 1884, there are still regular burials today. These are largely conducted on family-owned plots or areas owned by Atlanta (one of the most recent being former mayor Maynard Jackson, whose plot was contributed by the city).^[1]