A 90-minute guided walking tour of Oaklawn Cemetery led by historian Fred Hearns, exploring the history of Tampa's oldest public burial ground.
Oaklawn Cemetery is hosting a walking tour on Saturday, October 31, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM. It's a 90-minute walk through the city's oldest public burial ground, led by historian Fred Hearns.
Oaklawn opened in 1850, back when Tampa was a struggling town of around 500 people. The Alachua County Commissioners designated it a public burying ground for "white and slave, rich and poor," and it's been the final resting place for a wide cross-section of the city's history since. Thirteen Tampa mayors are buried here, along with a Florida governor, two Florida Supreme Court Justices, and the framers of five State Constitutions. You'll also find cigar industry leader Vicente Martinez-Ybor, more than 200 Native Americans, and two mass burial sites. A portion was set aside for enslaved and "marginal" people, and public money was reserved for burying indigents.
Much of the early history was lost to the elements. Before the railroad arrived in 1884, stone markers had to be brought in by sail, steamship, and wagon, so most early markers were carved from cypress. Fire, rot, and storms eventually destroyed them, and the original plat was misplaced after the Civil War, erasing the identities of many early interments. Fred Hearns, the Tampa Bay History Center's first curator of Black history, frames the walk around documented history rather than local legend.
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The tour meets at the south entrance of Oaklawn Cemetery, 606 E. Harrison St., between Morgan and Jefferson streets. Tickets are $25, and pre-registration is required. Space is limited to 25 guests, and History Center members save 20%.
