Oak Lawn Cemetery (Fairfield, Connecticut)

Oak Lawn Cemetery is a cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Oak Lawn Cemetery
Oak Lawn Cemetery, from Mary Tyler Moore's grave.
Details
Established	1865
Location	1530 Bronson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut
Country	United States
Coordinates	41°09′50″N 73°16′26″W
Size	<100 acres
No. of interments	<10,000
Website	https://www.oaklawnct.com/
Find a Grave	Oak Lawn Cemetery

History

In 1864, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized Captain Jonathan Godfrey to purchase twelve acres near Bronson Road for "no more than $12,000". On December 29, 1865, the Oak Lawn Cemetery Association was incorporated.^[1] The oak was regarded as a symbol of immortality in the 19th century and there was a white oak tree across the street from the parcel at Bronson Street.^[1][2] Captain Edwn Sherwood served as the first president of the Oak Lawn Cemetery Association from 1865 to September 1886.^[1]

Sturges Ogden was charged with the care of the white oak in 1818. The David Ogden House was renovated in 1935 and opened to visitors to the cemetery.^[3][4]

In 1866, sixteen people were buried at Oak Lawn. In 1867, 46 people were buried. More than half of the first 170 burials were transferred from the West Burying Ground.^[1] As of 1881, there were 435 burials at Oak Lawn.^[5]

As of May 2006, Oak Lawn Cemetery includes the remains of "nearly 10,000 people" and was "almost one hundred acres".^[1] As of 2015, the cemetery had over 1,200 veterans remains.^[2]

In 2021, a memorial of two granite towers on top of a pentagon granite structure was built in honor of 9/11 victims.^[6]

Notable burials

• Hugh D. Auchincloss (1858–1913), merchant and businessman^{[citation needed]}
• Frederic Bronson (1851–1900), lawyer^{[citation needed]}
• Mario Dal Fabbro (1913–1990), sculptor, furniture designer, and author^[7]
• Michael J. Daly (1924–2008), U.S. Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient^{[citation needed]}
• Charles I. DeBevoise (1872–1958), U.S. Army officer and Distinguished Service Medal recipient^{[citation needed]}
• John H. Esquirol (1900–1970), bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut^[8]
• Mary Tyler Moore (1936–2017), American actress^[9]
• Jason Robards (1922–2000), American actor^[9]
• James C. Shannon (1896–1980), judge and governor of Connecticut^[10]
• Franco Ventriglia (1922–2012), opera singer^[11]
• Mabel Osgood Wright (1859–1934), American author^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of cemeteries in Connecticut