Perhaps the most recalled image of Oak Grove is its graceful granite Gothic Revival archway on the west side of the cemetery.  Prospect Street terminates under the arch.  Although the cemetery itself was designed in 1855 by Josiah Brown ( a city surveyor and architect), the archway was constructed in 1873.  The archway style is not unique to Oak Grove, and may be found in other New England cemeteries of the period.  “Oak Grove” is one of the most popular cemetery names in America, and in Fall River’s case, it is appropriate due to the extensive planting of oak trees on the nearly 100 acres of land.

What is remarkable are the exquisite wrought iron gates on either side of the arch; on the right, in front of the office, on the left, in front of the former Ladies Comfort Station. It is unfortunate that no photographs exist of the raising of this arch in 1873, for it must have taken ingenuity and strength.  Visitors to the cemetery who pass beneath this arch always pause to read the inscription :

The Shadows Have Fallen And They Wait for the Day