text: oakwood cemetery ( troy , new york ) oakwood cemetery is a nonsectarian rural cemetery in northeastern troy , new york , united states . it operates under the direction of the troy cemetery association , a non - profit board of directors that deals strictly with the operation of the cemetery . it was established in 1848 in response to the growing rural cemetery movement in new england and went into service in 1850 . the cemetery was designed by architect john c. sidney and underwent its greatest development in the late 19th century under superintendent john boetcher , who incorporated rare foliage and a clear landscape design strategy . oakwood was the fourth rural cemetery opened in new york and its governing body was the first rural cemetery association created in the state . it features four man - made lakes , two residential structures , a chapel , a crematorium , 24 mausolea , and about 60 , 000 graves , and has about 29 miles ( 47 km ) of roads . it is known both for its dense foliage and rolling lawns , and has historically been used as a public park by lansingburgh and troy residents . oakwood was added to the national register of historic places in 1984 . prominent americans such as uncle sam wilson , russell sage , and emma willard , at least fourteen members of the united states house of representatives , and the founders of both troy and lansingburgh are buried at oakwood . the cemetery has been said to be " one of new york state 's most distinguished and well - preserved nineteenth - century rural cemeteries . " it also offers a famous panoramic view of the hudson river valley that is said to be the " most concentrated and complete overview of american history anywhere in america " . history the first rural cemetery in the united states — mount auburn cemetery in cambridge , massachusetts — was developed in the 1830s . rural cemeteries are burial grounds typically located on the fringe of a city that offer a natural setting for interment of the dead . the development of rural cemeteries followed closely with the english garden movement of the early 19th century . the troy cemetery association was formed on september 9 , 1848 ; john paine , d. thomas vail , isaac , george m. tibbits , john b. gale , and stephen e. warren were elected its trustees . it was the first rural cemetery association incorporated under an 1847 law authorizing the incorporation of such associations . the trustees appointed a committee to report on an eligible location for a cemetery and on september 5 , 1849 , the first parcel of land was purchased . on october 16 , 1850 , the land of the cemetery was consecrated and oakwood became the fourth rural cemetery founded in new york . the association is made up of lot owners who are elected by fellow lot owners ; the position is voluntary and receives no pay . oakwood was designed by john c. sidney , a philadelphia engineer familiar with cemetery design , with the help of garnet douglass baltimore , the first african american to earn a degree from rensselaer polytechnic institute . the plan consisted of roads , man - made lakes , dense vegetation , and rolling hills , covering about 300 acres ( 120 ha ) , including the modern sections a through q. sidney also designed the original superintendent 's house and receiving tomb , neither of which exist today . for all sidney 's extensive planning , the first plots were laid out in a seemingly haphazard manner by the first superintendent , robert fergusson . although sidney was the architect of the cemetery , it was superintendent john boetcher that gave oakwood its charm . boetcher became superintendent in 1871 and continued in the position until 1898 . at the beginning of his tenure , oakwood was said to be quite crude . during boetcher 's tenure oakwood 's most important icons were built : the earl chapel and crematorium , the warren chapel mortuary , the keeper 's house , the office lodge , numerous mausolea , and both the 101st street and 114th street entrances ( including a bridge over the troy and boston railroad on oakwood 's western border to the 101st street entrance ) . boetcher incorporated exceptional landscape design techniques during his tenure ; oakwood developed shifting landscape scenery : some areas are dominated by flowing lawns while others comprise dense foliage . boetcher brought in rare and foreign plants to help beautify the cemetery , including umbrella pines and colorado blue spruce . in 1869 , the city of troy bought the property of the third street burying ground for the site of a new city hall . this was the burial site for many of troy 's earliest inhabitants ; the city had bought lot number 102 in section n for re - interment of 146 graves . the vanderheyden family and jacob lansing , founders of troy and lansingburgh respectively , were re - interred in oakwood from private , family cemeteries . with these re - interments , the graves within oakwood span the entire the history of troy . although it was a cemetery by definition , oakwood quickly became a place for recreation and was used in its early days as a public park . in response to its popularity , many memorials include benches in their design , aimed to invite visitors to rest while enjoying their visit . so popular was oakwood that in 1908 the association began a stage service between the oakwood avenue and 114th street entrances . a 325 - acre ( 132 ha ) section of oakwood was nominated for the national register of historic places in august 1984 and was added to the register on october 10 , 1984 . the cemetery originally owned about 110 acres ( 45 ha ) on the east side of oakwood avenue , but sold the land in two transactions in the 2000s ( decade ) . the land deals were made to increase the association 's operating income . as of 2009 , the cemetery contained roughly 60 , 000 graves and its numbers continue to grow . the association expects to be able to accept interments until at least the early 23rd century . geography oakwood is built on an escarpment that rises east of the fluvial plain surrounding the hudson river , opposite the confluence of the hudson and mohawk . it is in eastern lansingburgh , within the northeast section of the city of troy . its western edge is dominated by a steep , densely vegetated hill that descends to the city below while the central and eastern portions of the cemetery comprise rolling hills graced with trees and vegetation that include four man - made ponds created by damming local streams . the property is generally long and thin , running approximately north - south along oakwood avenue ( new york route 40 ) . the cemetery covers 352 acres ( 142 ha ) of which 325 acres ( 132 ha ) contribute to the listing on the national register of historic places . in the east - west direction , the cemetery extends from gurley avenue and the bed of the old troy and boston railroad on the west , to oakwood avenue on the east . the northern boundary is farrell road extension and the southern boundary is a line that extends due east from a point just south of 101st street , to oakwood avenue . the cemetery is split into sections for ease of finding graves which , for the most part , follow an alphabetic ( e.g. section k ) or alphanumeric ( e.g. section d - 3 ) naming system , though there are some that follow a numeric scheme . the sections are split by paved and gravel roads and pedestrian paths that total 29 miles ( 47 km ) . there are three operating entrances to the cemetery . the main entrance is on oakwood avenue at the southern tip of the property ; it is flanked by the keeper 's house . the 114th street entrance is marked only by a gate and connects to gurley avenue . the 101st street entrance passes the office lodge . landmarks the large amount of space in rural cemeteries permits the use of sculpture in a way that the crowded churchyard has never allowed . many rural cemeteries , including oakwood , subsequently became virtual outdoor sculpture museums , displaying the works of well - known contemporary sculptors as memorials to the deceased . oakwood is home to thousands of individual statues and sculptures as well as 24 private mausolea . because of its popularity as a public park , many memorials included benches to invite visitors to rest while investigating the large , hilly property . many historically important sculptors are represented on the grounds of oakwood . robert e. , creator of the memorial urn for a. j. downing on the national mall in washington , d. c. , sculpted the memorial for major general george h. thomas , which incorporates a white marble sarcophagus topped with a bald eagle . william rinehart 's final work , a life - size sculpture of julia taylor paine , resides in oakwood . j. massey rhind , known for his statue of crawford w. long in the national statuary hall collection , is the artist behind the robert ross monument . the ross monument shows ross defending a ballot box , honoring his martyrdom , which resulted from his active work against election corruption in troy . joseph fuller 's grave is marked by an elaborately carved celtic cross — one of the first in the cemetery — and is based on another monument that fuller saw while visiting ireland . one of the most significant monuments is that to major general john e. wool . the 75 . 5 - foot ( 23 . 0 m ) monolithic obelisk which was a technological marvel in its day is constructed from granite quarried and shaped by the granite company of , maine , and at 650 tons was believed to be the largest shaft quarried in the united states up to that time . it was transported to troy by boat and brought to the cemetery on rollers . this and the many other obelisks in the cemetery exhibit the sentiment and taste of the victorian and edwardian eras . in 1862 the troy cemetery association set aside an area in section p , called the soldiers ' plot , for deceased army and navy officers and soldiers from rensselaer county . gardner earl memorial chapel and crematorium the most significant building on the property is the gardner earl memorial chapel and crematorium , a richardsonian romanesque structure built between 1887 and 1889 , which sits near the edge of the escarpment about 300 feet ( 91 m ) above the hudson . the building was financed by william s. earl , a successful troy manufacturer , as a memorial to his son who became ill and died on a trip to europe in march 1887 . the deceased son was an early promoter of cremation and was himself cremated in buffalo . the building consists of a 90 - foot ( 27 m ) bell tower with an 18 - foot ( 5 . 5 m ) square base on the south side , connected by a triple - arched loggia to a chapel and crematorium on the north side . the floor plan of the entire building measures 136 by 70 feet ( 41 by 21 m ) . the exterior is covered by a pink - tinted westerly granite and the foundation sits completely on bedrock . the interior is noted for its sumptuous and intricate design . the original furnace room was transformed into an elaborately designed reception room in 1889 , the furnaces having been moved into a separate room . this features significant use of marble , from siena , japan , and africa , on its walls , floors , and molding . the troy daily times stated on november 7 , 1889 , that , " the chapel is a model of architectural and mechanical skill , " and that the chapel 's reception room " is certainly the equal , and possibly in respect to artistic detail and of execution , the superior of any church interior in the land . " the interior of the chapel is marked by quartered oak ceilings , bluestone floors , and five original tiffany stained glass windows . the chancel contains an onyx altar and mosaic floor made of more than twenty colors of marble . the earl crematorium was listed in its own right on the national register of historic places in 2003 and was designated a national historic landmark on march 5 , 2012 . warren family mortuary chapel the warren family mortuary chapel is a stone chapel built on a knoll near the center of the cemetery . it was designed by henry dudley of new york city and built in 1860 in the english country gothic style , complete with a nave and transept floor plan . a tower was added in 1883 , with great care placed on finding building material that matched the earlier structure . the chapel contains stained glass windows above the altar designed by artist robert walter weir . former member of the united states house of representatives joseph mabbett warren ( 1813 – 1896 ) is interred in the chapel . vanderheyden bell the vanderheyden bell , a memorial itself , is located northeast of the earl crematorium . it is a bronze , cast bell weighing more than 3 , 000 pounds ( 1 , 400 kg ) . its original home was under a log shelter on the premises . at some point , it was placed into storage . in 1971 it was resurrected and hung among four redwood posts , becoming an additional " tower " on the property . oakwood is home to 24 mausolea and burial vaults exhibiting a wide range of architectural styles including greek revival , egyptian revival , roman revival , gothic revival , romanesque , and palladian . these structures are scattered throughout the grounds , some clustered , some not . they house the remains of some of troy 's wealthier and more important historical figures . the cannon mausoleum is mainly greek revival to look at , but also has romanesque aspects , such as a cruciform floor plan and a domed roof . the mausoleum is a simplified greek revival structure , with a bronze door in the art nouveau style displaying an angel surrounded by lilies . the tracy mausoleum , incorporating the most eclectic mix of design influences on the property , has a rock - faced stone exterior covered with foliate carvings . it displays a combination of romanesque , moorish , and baroque elements , and is topped with a " beehive " roof — one of its more recognizable design features . the tibbits mausoleum , vail vault , and gale are all done in the gothic revival style . the kemp mausoleum is the palladian representative on site and the paine mausoleum is another eclectic design , octagonal in shape , and flanked by benches . the sage mausoleum , built of westerly granite , exhibits obvious greek influences and is intentionally not marked . russell sage , the wealthy financier and member of the united states house of representatives from troy , is interred alone ; his second wife margaret decided to be buried with her parents in syracuse . to the left of the memorial is a bench that contains a relief of medusa on the center of the back , complete with snakes as hair . the panorama the panorama is an 84 - inch ( 210 cm ) panoramic photograph created by local photographer tom wall and set in acrylic on a steel stand in the cemetery 's northwestern section . it sits at the edge of a bluff directly overlooking the grounds of lansingburgh high school and middle school . the photograph spans a 100 - mile ( 160 km ) view and contains labels and notes — referred to by the troy cemetery association as " cliff notes " — about the history of objects shown in the photograph . from this point , one can view albany and the empire state plaza ( most notably the corning tower and alfred e. smith building ) , the helderberg escarpment , south troy , downtown troy , lansingburgh , watervliet , green island , cohoes , the cohoes falls , waterford , the hudson river , the confluence of the mohawk and hudson rivers , and the eastern terminus of the erie canal . the troy cemetery association claims that the view offers the " most concentrated and complete overview of american history anywhere in america " . it shows evidence of paleolithic rocks , native americans , the dutch , the british , the french and indian wars , the american revolution , the industrial revolution , and the " way west " movement resulting in the creation of the erie canal and champlain canal . notable interments there are a number of historically prominent figures buried at oakwood . at least fourteen members of the united states house of representatives ( all from new york ) are buried there , including e. harold cluett , john paine cushman , john dean dickinson , william henry draper , edward whitford greenman , job pierson , russell sage , dean park taylor , john richardson thurman , george tibbits , martin ingham townsend , henry vail , joseph mabbett warren ( also the mayor of troy ) , and wickes . the cemetery also has its fair share of military men , such as j. b. carr , a general during the civil war ; john augustus griswold , a promoter of ironclad ships and manufacturer of iron panels for the uss monitor ; commodore cicero price ( 1805 - 1888 ) , who served in the american civil war and commanded the east india squadron ; george henry thomas , a general during the american civil war , nicknamed the " rock of chickamauga " ; and john e. wool , commander - in - chief of the american forces during the mexican - american war . as previously mentioned , the founders of troy and lansingburgh , jacob d. vanderheyden and abraham jacob lansing respectively , were both re - interred at oakwood , having been moved there from downtown in 1869 . some of education 's finest teachers are also buried there , including amos eaton , a well - known botanist and geologist and founder of rensselaer polytechnic institute ; mary warren , founder of america 's first educational institution for " problem children " ; and emma willard , pioneer of women 's education and founder of the troy female seminary , which was later renamed emma willard school in her honor . finally , oakwood is also the final resting place of samuel wilson , the progenitor of america 's national symbol , uncle sam .