OUR HERITAGE

Oakland Cemetery was founded in 1901; Freeport Illinois was very young having been incorporated in 1898. Some of the “big money” in Freeport desired a more picturesque setting for their family estates than the not well maintained or located City Cemetery which was near the downtown, river, and railroad tracks. As a result Matt Marvin’s ancestors designated a portion of their property for the cemetery on the west side of town just past Krape Park, with the Country Club between these two. There were about 400 disinternments from the City Cemetery to Oakland in what is called Oak Knoll and Sunny Side Gardens. Freeport has some big names, then nationally known. Early in Freeport’s history was the Newell Company now a part of Newell Rubbermaid, and Micro Switch now a Division of Honeywell and the Furst McNess Company. The W. T. Rawleigh Company was founded in Freeport and their family estate is the centerpiece along the Pearl City road frontage featuring an Italian white marble monument approximately 20 feet wide by 8 feet tall with a copper female and other copper highlights. There are 30’ high pinnacles; Blocks of granite, for family estates, that are bigger than full size 15 passenger vans and many intricately detailed hand carvings throughout the earliest gardens.

The most famous person at Oakland is Mr. Levingston. Unknown to many, this is John D. Rockefeller’s father. He moved to Freeport with a new wife hiding from society and his previous wife without obtaining a divorce. Probably not something his son talked about much. CNN had contacted Oakland about coming to the Cemetery for a story around 1999/2000 but because of important national events had to make different use of their time. We were looking forward to the national exposure but maybe it was for the best.

Oakland had been very neglected in the mid to late 1990’s when Saber Management was formed and purchased the cemetery. Over the first years there was major work to clean up and restore the cemetery to its once beautiful condition. A 5 year plan was put in place by David Sullivan to pave roads, restore drainage, replace broken and missing equipment, construct an office, and regain the community’s confidence. It was a major capital investment but proved to be well worth it, resulting in construction the Chapel of Peace, an 868 crypt, with a heated and air-conditioned chapel and about 1000 cremation niches. This building added to the already diverse selections available including full monument gardens and memorial gardens. It has been said that it is one of the most beautiful cemeteries anywhere with its 55 acres of rolling hills and thousands of trees.

Larry Marsh is our Family Service and General Manager. Larry is a Freeporter and has been with the company since 1998. He has extensive experience with Oakland and is a valuable asset to the cemetery. John Moore is the Operations Manager taking care of all Administrative and Maintenance needs. John has a proven record of good service to the cemetery. Together Larry and John are providing excellent service to the families of the Freeport community.

The office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 4:30 and Friday and Saturday from 8:30 to 12:30. And as with most all cemeteries the grounds are open to the public during daylight hours. Oakland offers Mausoleum, ground, vaults, caskets, and memorialization from bronze on granite to any size monuments and private family estates. Not to mention the best customer service available in the greater Freeport area.

Annually, on Memorial Day, it is not uncommon to see up to 1,000 cars come through the cemetery. An annual Easter Egg Hunt had developed from 50 people to about 350 people when others in the community “caught on” and scheduled many others. Freeport is proud of Oakland and in the spring it is obvious by the traffic including those visiting loved ones, driving through to see as many as 10 to 20 deer at a time, and those who walk or jog the nicely paved roads.

Oakland Cemetery & Mausoleum
2619 West Pearl City Road (physical)
PO Box 637 (mail)
Freeport, IL 61032

Phone: 815-297-9999
Fax: 815-297-1130

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