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This summer, the city of Fall River is running a series of 45 minute trolley tours scheduled to highlight significant points of interest within the city. Among the destinations along the tour is Oak Grove Cemetery. Tour guides will provide visitors with a narrative of the cemetery’s historical importance and will recognize the impact FOG’s work is having on the cemetery. Tours are free and open to the public and we encourage you to attend. Although FOG played a small role in assisting the city in preparing the grant used to fund this project, there was considerable effort spent by the city and other volunteers in applying for this competitive grant. You can find more details at the following link:
For many years, the small, tiled-roof building directly opposite to the office inside the main gate was used as a lavatory and lounge for the lady visitors to the cemetery, and a convenience during funerals for attendees. Currently it is a break room for cemetery staff. It once had the dubious distinction of being the space where the grisly autopsies of Abby and Andrew Borden took place under the eye of medical examiner, Dr. Dolan, city doctor J.H. Leary, Clerk of autopsy, D.E. Cone, and Dr. F.W. Draper of Boston who was called in by Attorney General Albert Pillsbury.
The stained glass lancet windows have been broken and are currently boarded up, but the original deep wainscotting, moldings, and lavatory tiles with a Greek key pattern are still intact.
Click on thumbnails for enlargements of wainscotting and tile
click on thumbnail for full-sized map
Josiah Brown, a city architect and surveyor laid out the winding avenues and paths named for shrubs and trees. Over time, weather, vandals, and age have taken a toll on path markers. One current project under investigation by the Friends of Oak Grove is an effort to replace the signs using wooden , hand -painted markers on poles.
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