oakwood cemetery

I went to visit the grave of General Richard Waterhouse, a young man from San Augustine who helped raise the Nineteenth Texas Infantry in Jefferson in March of 1862. His family's wealth led the 30-year old to become one the youngest generals in the Confederacy when he was promoted in April 1864. The cemetery has a large number of Confederate veterans, as well as other notables, including Diamond Bessie, a local woman who was allegedly murdered in Jefferson in the years following the Civil War.***TIP*** Make sure to get good directions, the cemetery is not easy to find. Also, get some historical information on the folks buried there from the visitor's center or the Jefferson Historical Museum.

Originally set out to visit Diamond Bessie's final resting place but once there discovered a beautiful peaceful place with history.

We couldn't miss out on a cemetery visit in a town with such a colorful past, it wasn't a let down. The infamous murder victim Diamond Bessie is buried here, which is the main attraction, however, there is so much more to see here as far as historical graves. One section we found compelling is on the far side, with a single road, there were a number of graves mentioning the people were born in random places like Poland, Russia, England and more... Who all somehow managed to make the journey around the world and ultimately find their final resting place in Jefferson, Tx by the late 1800's... Imagining the how and why of their journey here is incredible to speculate about for the historical nerd in me! :-) Anyhow, overall it's a fantastically fascinating place and a must see in the trip to Jefferson!

We came here to see Diamond Bessie's Grave and left about 1hr 1/2 later. There were so many headstones ans so much History. We googled a lot of the headstones and read the history of several people buried there

Went to visit grave of diamond Bessie. Beautiful cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800's. A lot of the headstones were so old you couldn't read.

Oakwood Cemetery is north of downtown Jefferson, just off North Alley Street, Which runs off Highway 45. East on 45 from Highway 59, then left on N. Alley Street. Cross the railroad tracks and look for the cemetery on the right.Some of the more famous graves are those of Diamond Bessie, a prostitute killed by her jeweler, lover and Jessie Robinson and Bill Rose. Rose and Robinson were friends who killed each other. Their graves are marked by a chain between two iron posts, as their caskets were supposedly chained together because they were so close in life, and had no other friends.The grave of gunfighter, outlaw, Cullen Baker is in Oakwood. He is the subject of several non fiction books, and of several fictionalized accounts by Louis L'amour. In addition, the cemetery is the resting place of those who were powerful and not so powerful, that contributed to the history of Jefferson.Very quiet and serene on our last visit, and recommended to all interested in history.

Jefferson Texas is a wonderful place to spend a day or a weekend. Tucked away within the city limits is a lovely historic cemetery, Oakwood, and next to it the Hebrew cemetery, Mt Sinai.Oakwood is drivable, with well maintained albeit narrow roads, as well as a lovely walking cemetery. It is located in a nice neighborhood and if you are lucky, a train will go by as you wander around the well-kept grounds. A local history group also offers costumed tours during certain times of the year. Check with the Jefferson chamber of commerce for info on the tours.The cemetery has many lovely monuments, sculptures, and lots of stunning ironwork. Photography is permitted. Bring bottled water and use the bathroom before starting your visit as there are no facilities.Mt Sinai cemetery has many monuments inscribed in non-English languages and is a lovely little cemetery. It has a road but the main gate is locked and you will have to back out if you drive down it. Doable with a small car but very tricky with a larger vehicle.Diamond Bessie Moore is buried here (local historic murder victim). Her grave is in the back of Oakwood but easily spotted from the paved road as it is surrounded by lovely ironwork and is well marked.

Maybe I'm morbid, but I love walking through an old cemetery looking at all the old headstones and reading the inscriptions on each. I've been to many, and this one is one of the best.

We really enjoyed strolling through here and luckily for us we had a guided tour from a local. So neat to see the first families of Jefferson and learning all about them and which homes they lived in around town. We stayed at the Claiborne House and learned a lot about the Claiborne family by the owners of the B&B and it was pretty cool to see their resting place. The cemetery is well kept and the headstones and iron work around some of them are very intricate. Highly recommend taking the time to stroll through. Not far at all from down town.

My wife and I visited this cemetery after hearing about all the old headstones, and first families of Jefferson buried there. Very interesting . Oldest graves are at back of cemetery, including diamond Bessie and the schluter family. Even saw a confederate generals grave.

Buy the book about this cemetery from the Historical museum and you won't be able to wait to go walk through there and find all the oddities and unique headstones along with the unexplained and fascinating graves.

Its a well kept cemetery, but not in the historic area. You will need to drive to it. There are notable names from the town's history, including Diamond Bessie. There are paved drives so you can drive through. Also lots of nice statuary on the graves.

We had a difficult time locating this small, off the track cemetery but it was well worth the effort. We went just before sunset; it was eerie because several flocks of silent vultures sat on the cemetery walls, fences and circled us overhead. Never made a sound. Surreal...the cemetery is well kept and has a beautiful display of Confederate tombstones, etc. Some burial plots are surrounded by the most intricate iron work I've ever seen. The cemetery's gates are closed at sunset so be sure to watch your time!

If you leave this visit until right before you leave, you will be familiar with a lot of the "residents". We enjoyed this visit.

If it had been cooler, I could have spent an entire day in the cemetery. It is very nice and BIG. Diamond Bessie is one of the famous graves as well as a number of the families who settled Jefferson. The poetry on some of the headstones is beautiful.