Americus Historic District (Boundary Increase)

Oak Grove Cemetery sits at the east end of Church Street in Americus, Georgia. It was established in 1859 on land once belonging to Dr. Albert Rees, after an earlier cemetery on Forsyth Street was surrounded by houses and could not expand. The cemetery was added, together with East Church Street and several turn-of-the-century houses, to the existing Americus Historic District. Its grid of roads, iron-fenced family plots, ornate Victorian monuments made partly by local artisans, and classical mausoleums reflect the era. Burials include Charles F. Crisp, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 1890s, and Dr. George F. Cooper, founder of the city's public school system. In 1880, 129 Confederate soldiers' remains were moved from Andersonville to the cemetery, and a monument followed in 1899. A Spanish-American War section and an unmarked paupers' field are also present. With many city landmarks lost, the cemetery remains a visible record of Americus residents' lives.