General Information and Visiting Details
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Oakland Cemetery is a peaceful oasis filled with history, art, architecture, and local lore in the heart of a bustling city. It is Atlanta’s third-largest public green space, with many of the city’s finest and most interesting specimens of trees, shrubs, and flowers. You’ll find families enjoying picnics, neighbors walking dogs, and visitors exploring. The cemetery also serves as an event space throughout the year for annual fundraisers – runs, concerts, holiday celebrations – as well as private functions.
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The cemetery was originally called Atlanta Cemetery until it was renamed Oakland Cemetery in honor of the many forest oak trees that grew here.
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Oakland opened in 1850, long before the first automobile hit Atlanta’s streets. Parking for visitors to Oakland Cemetery and the Visitor Center is available in our paved lot at 342 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive facing thee west end of the Visitor Center. The entrance to the lot is directly across the street from DAS BBQ. Lock your car and do not leave valuables in view.
Guests with limited mobility are encouraged to park in the Visitor Center lot and use the walkways that lead to the Visitor Center and Cemetery. You may also contact Jessica VanLanduyt at jvanlanduyt@oaklandcemetery.com to inquire about other arrangements.
Buses and large vehicles are not allowed inside Oakland’s gates since they cannot make the turns inside the Cemetery.
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Guests with limited mobility are encouraged to park in the Visitor Center lot and use the walkways that lead to the Visitor Center and Cemetery. You may also contact info@oaklandcemetery.com to inquire about other arrangements.
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Dogs on leashes are welcome, but please clean up after your pets and do not allow them on the monuments. Due to City of Atlanta ordinance, dogs are not permitted at some of our larger special events. See specific event information for details.
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Picnics are permitted on public grounds, however grills and fires are not.
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Historic Oakland Foundation offers general and specialized tours, as well as seasonal special events. School tours serve thousands of students every year. See the Tours page for more details.
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Oakland Cemetery is a City of Atlanta Park, a nationally recognized historical site, a public garden, an arboretum, and the city’s first cemetery. Since 1850, people have gathered here to celebrate life, mourn the dead, commune with nature, connect with one another, and reflect on the complex, often difficult, history of our city, state, and nation.
To ensure that all visitors to Oakland and its programming, events, and facilities can continue to experience and learn from Oakland in a safe and inclusive way, all visitors agree to:
Be considerate of the safety and enjoyment of fellow visitors, volunteers, and staff
Follow Oakland procedures and policies, including staff requests
Follow all federal, state, and local laws, ordinance, and regulations
Oakland Cemetery and Historic Oakland Foundation will not tolerate threatening, insulting or harassing behavior, or abusive language. This includes behavior and/or speech based on, but not limited to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, disability, age, citizenship status, ethnicity, veteran status, gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Individuals who are aggressive toward staff, volunteers, or other guests will be escorted off the property.
By visiting Oakland Cemetery and/or an HOF event, program, or facility, you accept and agree to abide by this Code of Conduct. You further acknowledge that Historic Oakland Foundation and/or Oakland Cemetery staff reserves the right to deny or revoke access to any person who is believed to be in violation of the Code of Conduct. Noncompliance may result in involvement by law enforcement. Individuals who have violated the Code of Conduct may be denied access in the future.
Burials
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Although there are only approximately 40,000 markers, records indicate that more than 70,000 souls rest at Oakland. Family monuments rather than individual markers mark some plots. Other markers were originally wooden and were not replaced once they disintegrated. There are 3,000 unmarked Confederate graves and approximately 7,500 buried in Potter’s Field without markers.
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Oakland is an Atlanta cemetery, capturing the full sweep of the city’s past and present. Of the approximately 70,000 graves, some 6,900 are Confederate soldiers who died in Atlanta hospitals or on nearby battlefields.
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Oakland was developed when slavery still existed in the United States, and further expansions of the cemetery occurred during the era of segregation. Of course, Oakland is no longer segregated, and anyone may be buried wherever they purchase a plot or space.
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Potter’s Field is where paupers, or people who could not afford to be buried on a private lot, were buried prior to 1900 at the city’s expense. People without families to handle their arrangements were also buried here at city expense. When a burial record lists the gravesite as “unassigned,” this indicates that a person was buried in Potter’s Field. No markers exist in Potter’s Field today, but many graves were originally marked with wooden markers. According to an archaeological survey, approximately 7,500 people were buried in Potter’s Field.
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Oakland remains an active cemetery, with approximately one burial per month. The cemetery ran out of lots to sell many years ago, but lot owners occasionally wish to sell their spaces. If a family contacts the Sexton regarding a plot or space they wish to sell, he provides them with a list of people who have contacted Oakland and expressed interest in purchasing burial space. Individuals wishing to purchase plots should contact the Sexton, Samuel Reed at (404) 658-6019, sreed@atlantaga.gov.
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Management, Needs, and How You Can Help
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Oakland is owned and managed by the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Atlanta. The City maintains infrastructure such as the Bell Tower, the perimeter wall, drives, and water system. City workers open the gates daily at approximately 7 a.m. and lock the gates at around dusk. Plot owners are responsible for the upkeep of their own plots including landscaping, retaining walls and gravestones.
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The Sexton, or manager of the cemetery, is an employee of the City of Atlanta Parks Department who handles all burials and official records. The Sexton must approve all commercial photography and filming. All work on cemetery lots should be reported to the Sexton.
Historic Oakland Foundation, established in 1976, is the nonprofit “friends” group for the cemetery. The Foundation manages tours, events, restoration projects, and the gardens, and raises funds for the beautification and restoration of the cemetery. Offices are located at the Bell Tower Building inside the cemetery. Private events should be scheduled through the Foundation. -
Most markers that are damaged or missing are not victims of vandalism. Sometimes markers simply sink into the ground and are covered up by grass and dirt. Others are damaged due to age, pollution, weather, erosion or lawnmowers. Many markers were damaged in the March 2008 tornado or by trees falling since that time. To prevent additional damage, please do not climb or walk on headstones, monuments, markers or walls. Rubbings are not allowed.
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The Historic Oakland Foundation needs funding for approximately $15 million of restoration and repair work on monuments, mausolea, graves, retaining walls, walkways, and landscaping.
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Joining the Historic Oakland Foundation is a great first step, and it can lead to many interesting volunteer opportunities. You can also make a donation or tell a friend about the cemetery. See all the ways you can help preserve and restore Oakland here.
