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Cemetery turns 150, honors old vets and discovers new ones
by Jeff Horwich, Minnesota Public Radio
May 26, 2003

Eight-year-old Cole Smith, little brother in tow, counts the graves at Soldiers Rest in St. Paul's Oakland Cemetary. (MPR Photo/Jeff Horwich)

As it has since 1870, St. Paul's Oakland Cemetery hosted a Memorial Day service honoring the veterans buried there. But this year the cemetery also used the occasion to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Oakland has long been one of Minnesota's lesser-known historical treasures. But in the past few years volunteers have uncovered a wealth of new details about the veterans buried there.

St. Paul, Minn. — Oakland Cemetery was born of necessity. In 1853, the growing area soon to become St. Paul had no designated place for burials. Under cover of night, many residents buried their loved ones in Jackson's Woods, just north of town. This did not sit well with Mr. Jackson, who owned the property.

To solve the problem, various churches joined together to purchase 40 acres nearby. Over the years Oakland Cemetery grew to 100 acres, a perfect rectangle in St. Paul's North End neighborhood.

	Reenacting the Minnesota 1st

In 1878, Oakland set aside a small section called "Soldiers' Rest" for former union soldiers killed in the Civil War. Oakland remains Minnesota's preeminent Civil War cemetery. For Memorial Day, two dozen reenactors revived the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment, which played a critical role in the battle of Gettysburg.

Over the years Oakland picked up its share of distinctions. Six early governors are buried here, along with numerous senators and other officials. 3M founder Archibald Bush lies a short walk from James Goodhue, who founded the Minnesota Pioneer, the state's first newspaper and the predecessor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The Soldiers' Rest section filled up as it opened to veterans of the Indian wars, the Spanish American war, and the two world wars. But Cemetery Director Bob Schoenrock says Soldiers' Rest was showing its age.

	Headstones yet to be replaced

"I received several letters from veterans who had been out here, who said you know that veterans section is getting to be a disgrace," Schoenrock says. "You'll see a lot of these old sandstone ones ... they're crooked, you can't even see (the writing) any more."

The simple task of replacing headstones turned into a historical investigation that will continue for years to come. That's because the federal government demands detailed evidence of military service before supplying a veteran's headstone. In 1999, volunteer Pat Hill and his fiancee began researching each of the 339 names in Soldiers' Rest. Some 85 men had never had a headstone or any documentation, including Return Ira Holcomb. Hill says Holcomb fought for the union in Missouri, but later became a prolific writer of Minnesota history.

	Patrick Hill

"I was very surprised to find him here and again I think it's a story that's repeated throughout this area: The reason a man of such preeminence and accomplishments is here is because at the end of his days, he was alone. And there was no one here to do the paperwork that was needed to get this done. But it's done now," Hill said.

Hill secured a special headstone for Minnesota's first Medal of Honor winner, Marshall Sherman. But he also discovered previously anonymous names, like John Benson and Henry Majors, had an unknown significance.

They were black.

	No less a veteran

"The army itself was segregated, and remained so until well after the second world war," Hill says. "But that's not the case here. There's no segregation here. A soldier who served honorably gets a spot regardless of skin color in here, and it started right from the very beginning."

Hill has also discovered Oakland's reputation as a veterans cemetery is highly underrated. Outside Soldiers Rest he has found another 900 veterans among Oakland's general population, and he says there may be as many as 2,000.

Old news clippings he's found tell him there are a few confederate graves waiting to be discovered.

Recently a new category of veterans has emerged.

Oakland has become the most popular burial spot for St. Paul's Hmong community. Many of these men fought alongside Americans in Southeast Asia. As Hill finds them they will be added to the list of veterans here, to be honored on Memorial Days to come.

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