Downtown in Tampa in Hillsborough County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Oaklawn Cemetery
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
1. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker
also see nearby markers
Erected by Tampa Historical Society with Contributions from its Members and Friends.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.
Location. Marker has been reported permanently removed. It was located near 27° 57.258′ N, 82° 27.475′ W. Marker was in Tampa, Florida, in Hillsborough County. It was in Downtown. It was at the intersection of North Morgan Street and East Fortune Street, on the right on North Morgan Street. Marker has been replaced with an updated marker titled...Oaklawn and St. Louis Cemetery at the same location. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office
this page online
We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
Regionally, this marker was on Florida’s Tampa Bay. It was also in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Oaklawn and St. Louis Cemetery (a few steps from this marker); Kennedy (a few steps from this marker); Victims of the Yellow Fever (within shouting distance of this marker); 29 Sea Captains and Mariners (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate States Soldiers and Sailors (within shouting distance of this marker); Historic Harlem Academy / School #2 (within shouting distance of this marker); U.S.S. Sagamore (within
Photographed by AGS Media, September 12, 2010
2. Oaklawn Cemetery Main Gate
Oaklawn Cemetery
931-2168
Operated by
City of Tampa Parks Dept.
For information 931-2121
Open 8am-6pm
No Pets Allowed
No Trespassing
Security Patroled
Regarding Oaklawn Cemetery. Oaklawn Cemetery was created in 1850, when Tampa was a struggling town of around 500 persons. In the minutes of the Alachua County Commissioners meeting, Oaklawn was designated as a public burying ground for white and slave, rich and poor.
Originally, most of the grave markers were wood (usually carved cypress), since stone for memorials necessitated an expensive combination of sail, steamship, and wagon transportation. (Tampa had no rail service until 1884.) Wood markers were destroyed by fire, rot, and storms, leaving many graves without durable markers. Additionally, the original plat of the cemetery was misplaced after the Civil War, and the locations and identities of many early interments were lost. At Oaklawn are buried many of Tampas pioneer families, thirteen mayors of the City, one Florida Governor, two Florida Supreme Court Justices, and the framers of five State Constitutions. A portion of the cemetery was set aside for slaves and
Photographed by AGS Media, September 12, 2010
3. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
4. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker seen along North Morgan Street, Tampa
Photographed by AGS Media, September 12, 2010
5. Oaklawn Cemetery Map
Posted at the cemetery's gazebo, the map plots Oaklawn Cemetery, and shows the neighboring area comprising St. Louis Cemetery (Tampa's first Catholic cemetery which is operated by the Diocese of St. Petersburg). St. Louis is commonly perceived to be part of Oaklawn as both cemeteries are enclosed within the same walls, with ill-defined interior boundaries.
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
6. Oaklawn Cemetery - Henry Laurens Mitchell
A promising young attorney who later
served as the 15th Governor of the State of Florida from 1892 to 1896.
Mitchell is the only State Governor buried at Oaklawn.
Photographed by AGS Media, September 12, 2010
7. Oaklawn Cemetery - Henry Mitchell (reverse)
Prior to serving on the Florida Supreme Court and as Governor of Florida, Captain Henry L Mitchell served in Co. K of the 4th Florida Infantry, Confederate States Army (along with John T. Lesley - see below)
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
8. Oaklawn Cemetery Confederate Unknown Soldier
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
9. Oaklawn Cemetery , 29 Sea Captains and Mariners Memorial
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
10. Oaklawn Cemetery , Yellow Fever Victims Memorial
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
11. Oaklawn Cemetery, Confederate States Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stone
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
12. Oaklawn Cemetery, USS Sagamore Stone
Photographed by Mike Stroud
13. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker
USS Sagamore shelling of the cemetery
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
14. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker
Joseph B.
Lancaster
First Mayor
City of Tampa
1856
Joseph Lancaster was Tampas first mayor. He was also a judge, sitting on the Florida Supreme Court in 1851, and Speaker of the Florida House in 1843-47. A persistent mystery surrounds the grave of this prominent early Tampan. While local records, Masonic accounts and a headstone confirm that Lancaster was buried in Oaklawn in 1856, a memorial stone for the judge also exists in the old city cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida. Some wags have suggested that an astute politician like Judge Lancaster would have had no difficulty lying in two places at once. (Historic Guides and the Tampa Historical Society)
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
15. Oaklawn Cemetery John T. Lesley Capt. Co. K 4th Fla. Inf., CSA
John T. Lesley Family. John T. Lesley was a pioneer cattleman, an Indian fighter, and a Captain in the Confederate Army. He formed his own volunteer company, the “Sunny South Guards,” in 1860. Later, he became
a state senator. Son William T. Lesley was Sheriff and a member of the 1885 Constitutional Convention. The union of the Lesley and Brown families (John T. was married to William T. Browns daughter, Margaret)
produced one of the most powerful local dynasties in politics, business and agriculture. Theodore Lesley, Johns son, was County Historian and an
ardent preservationist of local records.(Historic Guides and the Tampa Historical Society)
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 30, 2012
16. Oaklawn Cemetery John T. Lesley Family.
* see previous photo
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
17. Oaklawn Cemetery Mass Graves
Lower: 102 Fort Brooke Soldiers and Settlers
Upper: Tampa Native Americans
Upper: Tampa Native Americans
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 30, 2012
18. Oaklawn Cemetery
James Gettis
Co B
7 Fl Inf
CSA
May 1 1816
Dec 14 1867
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 30, 2012
19. Oaklawn Cemetery, Capt. Gettis back side
Lawer - 1848
Del. Fla Sec
Conv. - 1861
Del. Const.
Conv. of Fla.
1865
Circuit Judge
1865 - 1867
Photographed by AGS Media, September 20, 2010
20. Pirate Graves at Oaklawn Cemetery
(Left)
Jose Perfino
El Indio
A Cuban Pirate
Killed 1850
(Right)Mr. Hubbard
A Cuban Pirate
Found dead in woods
June 18, 1850
El Indio
A Cuban Pirate
Killed 1850
(Right)
A Cuban Pirate
Found dead in woods
June 18, 1850
Photographed by AGS Media, September 12, 2010
21. St. Louis Catholic Cemetery Marker
Photographed by AGS Media, September 12, 2010
22. Oaklawn & St. Louis Cemeteries Marker
March 30, 1998
Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,558 times since then and 79 times this year. Last updated on June 29, 2019, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. Photos: 1. submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 2, 3. submitted on September 14, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. 4. submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 5. submitted on September 14, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. 6. submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 7. submitted on September 15, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 13. submitted on July 7, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 14, 15. submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 16. submitted on July 7, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 17. submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 18, 19. submitted on July 7, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 20. submitted on June 5, 2011, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. 21, 22. submitted on September 14, 2010, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
