Welcome to Oak Woods Cemetery

Rising out of the same wilderness as Chicago herself, the Oak Woods Cemetery Association was organized in 1853 by a group of the city’s leaders and is today one of Chicago’s most widely known and respected institutions. Previous to the time of the incorporation of Oak Woods Cemetery, most burial places were churchyards or small plots adjacent to cities or towns. The nine men who organized Oak Woods secured the services of Dolph Strauch, foremost landscape architect and designer, and the foundation was laid for the conception of the cemetery capable of development into a beautiful park with wide lawns and winding roads.

On February 12th, 1853, the Illinois State Legislature granted a special perpetual charter to the Oak Wood Cemetery Association. One of the few cemeteries to be so organized and operated by virtue of Special Legislative Act, its charter guaranteed a permanent resting place for all those who would find peace for evermore among its wooded, lake-studded acres:

“And no road…. shall be… opened through their said grounds…without consent of the directors; nor shall any corporation now existing or hereafter created, be authorized to take, hold or possess, any portion of said cemetery by condemnation."

As for many Chicagoans dreamed of their city becoming one of the greatest seaports of the world, Oak Woods dreamed and planned for a truly impressive mausoleum, worthy of inclusion among the greatest structures of its kind. When the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened in the spring of 1959, one of the first ships to pass through it and on the Port of Chicago brought 100 tons of Portuguese Marble for use in constructing the Tower of Memories. This imposing shrines-Oak Woods newest-includes the magnificent six-story columbarium of cloister, tallest in the world.

Oak Woods…ever changing, yet ever quiet and serene, goes about its business of faithfully serving Chicago as it has so capably since 1853.

Oak Woods offers its property owners eternal protection through its Perpetual Charter. Conveniently located, it is easily reached by all modes of transportation in all kinds of weather.

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