Historic Oak Hill Cemetery attracts attention with Fall History Festival

It is no wonder that Stuart Oates, director of Oak Hill Cemetery downtown, says proudly that the lovely old graveyard – a tranquil oasis in the midst of a busy city – “is Birmingham’s treasure.”

Oak Hill, located just north of the BJCC, is Birmingham’s oldest cemetery and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Purchased by the city in 1873, Oak Hill – according to bhamwiki.com – is the resting place for two Alabama governors, some early Birmingham mayors, Civil War veterans, a Revolutionary soldier and, more recently, civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth, as well as most of the landholders who founded the Magic City.

Oates, along with numerous volunteers and historical reenactors, had an opportunity to show off that treasure on Sunday, when they hosted the Oak Hill Fall History Festival – an annual celebration of the beauty and importance of the cemetery, as well as some colorful pieces of local lore.

The event featured guided tours, food, music and performances by the reenactors – who brought to life some of the people who are buried at Oak Hill, including John T. Milner, pioneer and railroad engineer; Col. James Sloss, founder of Sloss Furnaces; and Louise Wooster, the colorful owner of the best-known house of prostitution in early Birmingham.

The festival has been held at Oak Hill since 2009, according to Oates. “This is probably the best attended we’ve had,” he said during the event.

About 125 people had signed in by 2:30 p.m., according to volunteers, and visitors were still arriving at a decent clip. The event was to last until 4 p.m.

The festival had a different format this year, according to Oates. In the past, all visitors took part in guided tours that occurred every half hour. But this year, attendees could take part in a tour or just wander the grounds, discovering the lovely, often overlooked cemetery in their own way.

Many of the visitors Iron City Ink spoke to were visiting Oak Hill for the first time, and most had never even heard of the cemetery or the fesitval.

“It’s a great place,” said Sarah Long. “I never knew it was here.”

“I just like … trying to find the oldest grave markers and seeing everybody that’s all worn down and just the history of it,” said Long’s friend, Justin Williamson.

Teenager Dustin Cummings and his aunt, Deanna Vann – she found the event on Facebook – were also first-time visitors.

Cummings – who had been looking at the names and dates of the burials – said that he liked “just the history” of Oak Hill and “how far it goes back.”

Vann said that she “enjoyed the historical information that you find” but also liked “all the mausoleums, and the way it’s so different from cemeteries today. Everything now is so regimented. Everything’s the same. This is very nice.”

She also enjoyed hearing the reenactors speaking in character. “I read some of the stories, but it’s nice to hear somebody actually tell the stories,” she said.

Melissa Knee, also seeing Oak Hill for the first time, “was expecting it to be a really tiny little cemetery, but it’s a lot bigger and filled with a lot more history than I expected,” she said. “The amount of famous people, people who built Birmingham and really established this place as what it is.”

Jimmy Branch admitted he knew little of the city’s history, despite being a Magic City native, and said that his visit to the festival would, he said, give him “a reason to go and Google stuff and read some books.”

Mayra Alvarez has been to Oak Hill before and had brought her friend, Carlos Gonzalez, to the festival. “He likes history, so it’s perfect,” she said.

And Gonzalez seemed to have a positive reaction to the site. “I like the characters and the dresses, and it has a certain feel,” he said.

“I just love it,” Alvarez said. “It’s so lovely. It’s so old and has so much history.”

“I bet it’s haunted, too,” she added, laughing.

The first Birmingham policemen killed in the line of duty are interred at Oak Hill, as well as Emma Hawes, who was murdered by her husband in a sensational case in 1888. Hawes was portrayed at the event by Robin Rushing.

Oak Hill is owned by the city of Birmingham but managed by the Oak Hill Cemetery Memorial Association since 1913, according to Oates.

“All the pioneers are buried here,” he said. “You want to learn anything about early Birmingham history, how the city was formed and founded, this is the place to start. We have all the original pioneers of the African-American community. We have the pioneers in banking and ministers, doctors, education.”

There are numerous ethnic groups represented at Oak Hill, including more than 100 Italian immigrants. “(Oak Hill) was always representative of the entire city,” Oates said.

First-time Visitor Harper Goodman said she was fascinated by this “diversity” and “all the different plots for different immigrants and different cultures.”

Goodman said she’ll be sure to tell other people about Oak Hill and encourage them to visit. “And I look forward to this event being built up more, too,” she said of the festival.

This is the kind of reaction that Oates said he hopes for when people see Oak Hill. “I want people to understand what an important historic asset the cemetery is,” he said.

People should “come out and see” Oak Hill, Oates said. “I think that’s my tagline – come and see.”

Oak Hill Cemetery is located at 1120 19th St. North. For more information, call 251-6532 or go to oakhillbirmingham.com.