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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:
- Inscription Survey: A survey form has been completed and we plan to begin recording headstone inscriptions soon.
- Fall River Street Tree Planting Program:
On Tuesday July 28th at 7PM in the 1st floor meeting room of the FR Library (Main Branch), the FRSTPP will be hosting a session on Tree Disease and Insects. FRSTPP has provided considerable support with our tree planting efforts. Hope to see you there!
- People, Inc.: Although we have had considerable rain of late, People, Inc. has provided us with a much needed service. Specifically, watering and caring for the 30 trees which FOG has planted over the past year. Our thanks to Bill Perkins and the fine folks at People, Inc.!
- Fall River Spirit: We’d like to once again extend our appreciation to reporter Bill Moniz for his efforts in getting our work recognized and for covering our May tree planting.
- Healthy City Fall River: David Weed, coordinator of HCFR, has developed another web page spotlighting our recent tree planting. Here is a link to the page: http://www.gfrpartners.com/09OakGroveTreePlanting.html
“Oak Grove and the Rural Cemetery Movement in America” by noted Landscape Architect Martha Lyon.
Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 6PM.
Fall River Country Club
4232 North Main Street
Fall River, MA 02722
Tickets are $10/free for members and may be purchased in advanced at the New Boston Bakery. Contact directly at 508-642-9636 or via email at friendsofoakgrove@yahoo.com. Reservations are recommended.
Please click on these links to read the article in today’s Herald News.
http://www.heraldnews.com/town_info/history/x1565510740
http://www.heraldnews.com/town_info/history/x1565510740?view=pop&photo=3
Perhaps the most unusual monument in the cemetery is this 9 x 7 1/2 x 4 granite miniature mill which serves as a lasting memorial to mill owner F.H. Stafford The windows are reproduced in faithful detail as well as the doors on each storey which were needed for loading. The doors even boast minutely executed keyholes!
It was the wish of Mr. Stafford to erect this lasting tribute to his life’s work, and it was erected shortly after his death in 1892. The site was well-chosen as it is located upon a high hill section of the cemetery which overlooks the many smokestacks of the southeastern part of the city.
The concept of a beautifully -landscaped park where families might come to visit departed Loved Ones was first fully-realized in London’s Highgate and Cambridge’s Mount Auburn. The Victorians rivalled the Ancient Egyptians in their ritual observances of death and burial, monuments and memorials. Beautiful Oak Grove Cemetery in the North end of Fall River is one of many New England mid- century Victorian memorial parks where the streets are named for trees, and fanciful wrought iron gates enclose the fine families of the city like fences of stately homes in the earthly life.
For those who love cemeteries, – the peacefulness and quiet of the Past- Oak Grove holds unparalleled verdant vistas and peerless carved monuments of another age. Whether a student of Victorian symbolism , or of Fall River history- a pensive hour spent in silence at Oak Grove is a retreat from the pressures of modern society, and a glimpse into the intriguing past of the city’s notable citizens.
Plagued with the problems all cemeteries are faced with today, vandalism, landscaping and maintenance costs, security, lack of volunteerism, etc. -perhaps now is the time for those who truly appreciate the heritage and history enclosed within the gates and walls of Oak Grove to come together.
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