Donations are accepted for Oakland Cemetery The Board of Directors of financially troubled Oakland Cemetery, founded in Woodstock 164 years ago, welcomes donations from the public. Checks should be made payable to Oakland Cemetery and sent to Home State Bank, 124 S. Johnson St., Woodstock, IL 60098. As The Independent reported last week, rising maintenance […]
By Eileen Millard news@the woodstockindependent.com When a brick-and-mortar business closes its doors for financial reasons, operations cease. Staff might be let go; equipment could be sold; but the site will eventually find use again. But what happens when a historic, nonprofit cemetery finds that operating funds might run out in the next few years? According […]
By Morgen Neuhauser news@thewoodstockindependent.com Frank E. Hanaford, a Civil War soldier buried in Woodstock’s Oakland Cemetery, escaped the infamous Confederate prisoner-of-war camp in Andersonville in 1864. Just a month after Hanaford had been captured, he and four other men made their escape with only a pint of beans, a pint of cornmeal, a little salt, […]
By Julia Eastham news@the woodstockindependent.com Four years ago, 48 doves were released during a ceremony at Oakland Cemetery as a symbol of the 48 almost-forgotten children buried behind the mausoleum. At that time, in May 2018, a memorial stone was placed where the previously unmarked graves had been discovered, and 48 wooden crosses were lined […]
About a century late, Woodstock will do right by 48 almost-forgotten children who are buried in Oakland Cemetery. Those children are buried in an open plot that, until last week, was undisturbed and unmarked. But Zoia Monuments installed a memorial stone on the site May 8 ahead of a dedication ceremony this coming weekend. “A […]
Project on track to be dedicated in spring of 2018 A campaign to build a memorial to children buried in an unmarked cemetery plot has reached its fundraising goal. In less than a month, donors contributed enough to the Orphans Memorial fund to ensure it’s built, organizers said. The engraved stone marker will memorialize dozens […]
In Oakland Cemetery, there is a plot, peaceful and undisturbed, wide open and unmarked. A hundred years ago, wooden crosses may have marked the spot, which sits behind the mausoleum, adjacent to rows of timeworn headstones. But today, there is nothing. It’s the nothing that drives Woodstock’s Gail Sorensen. “The story is alive,” Sorensen said. […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
