In 1864, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized Captain Jonathan Godfrey to purchase twelve acres near Bronson Road for "no more than $12,000". On December 29, 1865, the Oak Lawn Cemetery Association was incorporated.[1] The oak was regarded as a symbol of immortality in the 19th century and there was a white oak tree across the street from the parcel at Bronson Street.[1][2] Captain Edwn Sherwood served as the first president of the Oak Lawn Cemetery Association from 1865 to September 1886.[1]
Sturges Ogden was charged with the care of the white oak in 1818. The David Ogden House was renovated in 1935 and opened to visitors to the cemetery.[3][4]
In 1866, sixteen people were buried at Oak Lawn. In 1867, 46 people were buried. More than half of the first 170 burials were transferred from the West Burying Ground.[1] As of 1881, there were 435 burials at Oak Lawn.[5]
As of May 2006, Oak Lawn Cemetery includes the remains of "nearly 10,000 people" and was "almost one hundred acres".[1] As of 2015, the cemetery had over 1,200 veterans remains.[2]
In 2021, a memorial of two granite towers on top of a pentagon granite structure was built in honor of 9/11 victims.[6]
