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

Inscription. This hallowed ground set aside as a town burial site in 1850 "for whites & slaves alike" is the resting place for many of Tampa's founding fathers, mayors, and county officers. A governor of Florida, two Supreme Court Judges, framers of all five Florida Constitutions 1839-1885, and soldiers of seven wars, Second Seminole War, Mexican War, Billy Bowlegs Indian War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II, rest here.

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. Marker 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 area: Tampa FL 33602, United States of America.

We have been informed that this sign or monument is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.

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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 shouting distance of this marker); Tampa Native Americans (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tampa.

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.

Oaklawn Cemetery Main Gate image. Click for full size.

Photographed By AGS Media, September 12, 2010

2. Oaklawn Cemetery Main Gate

The cemetery is located at 606 East Harrison Street. The city sign to the left of the gate reads:
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

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 Tampa’s 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 “marginal” persons (such as pirates), and public monies were designated to bury indigents. (Historic Guides and the Tampa Historical Society)

Photographed By AGS Media, September 12, 2010

3. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker

Viewed from inside the cemetery, looking towards downtown north

Oaklawn Cemetery Marker seen along North Morgan Street, Tampa image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010

4. Oaklawn Cemetery Marker seen along North Morgan Street, Tampa

Oaklawn Cemetery Map image. Click for full size.

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.

Oaklawn Cemetery - Henry Laurens Mitchell image. Click for full size.

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.

Oaklawn Cemetery - Henry Mitchell (reverse) image. Click for full size.

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)

Oaklawn Cemetery Confederate Unknown Soldier image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010

8. Oaklawn Cemetery Confederate Unknown Soldier

Oaklawn Cemetery , 29 Sea Captains and Mariners Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010

9. Oaklawn Cemetery , 29 Sea Captains and Mariners Memorial

Oaklawn Cemetery , Yellow Fever Victims Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010

10. Oaklawn Cemetery , Yellow Fever Victims Memorial

Oaklawn Cemetery, Confederate States Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stone image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010

11. Oaklawn Cemetery, Confederate States Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stone

Oaklawn Cemetery, USS Sagamore Stone image. Click for full size.

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

Judge
Joseph B.
Lancaster
First Mayor
City of Tampa
1856
Joseph Lancaster was Tampa’s 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)

Oaklawn Cemetery John T. Lesley Capt. Co. K 4th Fla. Inf., CSA image. Click for full size.

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. Brown’s daughter, Margaret) produced one of the most powerful local dynasties in politics, business and agriculture. Theodore Lesley, John’s son, was County Historian and an ardent preservationist of local records.(Historic Guides and the Tampa Historical Society)

Oaklawn Cemetery John T. Lesley Family. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, June 30, 2012

16. Oaklawn Cemetery John T. Lesley Family.

* see previous photo

Oaklawn Cemetery Mass Graves image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010

17. Oaklawn Cemetery Mass Graves

Lower: 102 Fort Brooke Soldiers and Settlers
Upper: Tampa Native Americans

Oaklawn Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, June 30, 2012

18. Oaklawn Cemetery

Capt
James Gettis

Co B
7 Fl Inf
CSA
May 1 1816
Dec 14 1867

Oaklawn Cemetery, Capt. Gettis back side image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, June 30, 2012

19. Oaklawn Cemetery, Capt. Gettis back side

Tampa's 2nd
Lawer - 1848

Del. Fla Sec
Conv. - 1861

Del. Const.
Conv. of Fla.
1865

Circuit Judge
1865 - 1867

Pirate Graves at Oaklawn Cemetery image. Click for full size.

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

St. Louis Catholic Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By AGS Media, September 12, 2010

21. St. Louis Catholic Cemetery Marker

This post marks the boundary between Oaklawn and the Catholic cemetery, which was established in 1874. It is the only significant physical indicator or signage showing where Oaklawn ends and St. Louis begins.

Oaklawn & St. Louis Cemeteries Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By AGS Media, September 12, 2010

22. Oaklawn & St. Louis Cemeteries Marker

This marker separating the Oaklawn and St. Louis cemeteries was erected by Arsenio M. Sanchez and Julius J. Gordon
March 30, 1998

Credits. This page was last revised on January 6, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,696 times since then and 77 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.