(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles on Oak Hill Cemetery, as we explore the history of one of Bradford’s oldest “city of the dead.”)

How still and peaceful is the grave, where, Life’s vain tumult’s past,

The apportioned home by Heaven’s decree, receives us all at last.

In 1881 Bradford had a problem: too many dead people and not enough places to bury them. It was a problem that the early founders had not foreseen.

Nearly fifty years earlier, a small plot of land — three acres between Kennedy and Davis Streets (now the site of Hanley Park) — had been donated to provide a free burial ground “where only the warbling of wild birds and the babbling of the Tuna disturbed the quiet of the spot.” It was believed at that time that the cemetery would be more than adequate for any and all burials for an indefinite time.

But the discovery of oil in 1871 and the subsequent oil boom led to a huge population increase in the city. By the 1880s, the quaint country cemetery that had been located on the outskirts of town was now being surrounded by houses and buildings as the city expanded. The Erie Railroad clipped off nearly a third of the acreage when the tracks went through the northern side. By 1880 the cemetery had nearly 500 people buried there and there was simply no more room. The idea of bodies being interred almost “elbow to elbow” as it were, disturbed the citizens of Bradford. Something had to be done.

An editorial in November 1881 cried out that “Bradford needs a ‘City of the Dead’ worthy of the name…a place where sorrowing relatives could have the melancholy satisfaction of interring the ashes of their loved ones in a family plot which could be beautified by tokens of affection and where the sorrowing visitor would not be repelled by the sight of a large field so thick studded with unmarked graves that they touched each other.”

A man named Phillip Webster had the solution. Born in 1830, Webster was one of the early pioneers in Bradford, a stepson of Levitt Little, who brought his family by team and canoe from New Hampshire to settle this part of northern Pennsylvania.

Growing up in Littleton, as Bradford was called then, Philip Webster learned surveying and carpentry, and was an early undertaker in the community. He was the second burgess of Bradford borough, a school teacher, postmaster, and borough treasurer. In 1880, he became involved in real estate.

As an undertaker, Webster knew the problems of overcrowding the old cemetery on Kennedy Street. As a businessman, he realized the potential financial advantage to establishing a new one and had already begun seeking out a suitable location. He found one, just off East Main Street, halfway between Bradford and Tarport, a relatively gentle slope of land approximately eight and a half acres in size. He called it Oak Hill. And unlike the old Littleton Cemetery, which was a free cemetery open to anyone without charge, Oak Hill Cemetery lots were sold to individuals and families.

Grave spaces were routinely sold singly rather than an entire lot. Those who couldn’t afford to purchase a multi-grave lot would simply purchase a single grave space. Money was tight so few of these single graves were adorned with a marker. Some purchasers have opted to record their lot at the McKean

County Courthouse, establishing legal title, but surprisingly not the majority and over time, this has occasionally caused difficulties in proving actual ownership. However, placing a gravestone or monument on the lot or digging a grave for a burial establishes ownership along with the lot layout naming the purchaser (or purchasers).

Individual Oak Hill cemetery lot record cards with hand-drawn diagrams (available at the Bradford Landmark Society, Wright Monument Works, or the website www.findagrave.com) show the placement of the burials and what may appear to be empty spaces in the cemetery are, in fact, occupied.

The Bradford Era wrote, “it will never again be sought after by the oil man, as the sand rock has yielded up its treasure; the fences will always be in good repair, the ground kept free from weeds and brambles, and adorned with shrubbery, hedges, and flowers.”

Webster immediately began clearing up the underbrush, digging out stumps, and preparing the land. He planted 500 silver leaf maple and evergreen trees, and laid out lots, walks, and drives.

A greenhouse was erected at the base of Oak Hill and promised the availability of 150 to 200 roses and other bedding plants daily.

A number of people, having family and friends buried in the old Littleton cemetery, had those bodies removed to the new Oak Hill. Webster himself removed the bodies of his mother Lucy, and stepfather Levitt Little, and had them re-interred in his cemetery.

His son Frank joined as a partner in 1895, and eight more acres were purchased from the Raub family, making 17 acres total. Stock in the new cemetery was sold, at $100 each; Philip Webster was elected president and Frank Webster as secretary and treasurer. By 1896, nearly 1,900 people were buried there.

Over the years, more land was purchased as the cemetery expanded.

But not everyone was pleased. In April 1891, a letter to the Bradford Era (signed “a Mourner”) complained about the lack of proper roadways for carriages, sidewalks, and sturdy stairways. The writer grumbled “It might be just as well for the proprietor to put in a few dollars to erecting new gates and building a sidewalk across the swamp at the foot of the hill.” He complained that the cemetery was “more as a money-making institution than anything else.” And, he strongly suggested the establishment of a cemetery association to oversee things.

Whether the letter from ‘a mourner’ succeeded or not, a Cemetery Association was formed in June of 1895 with prominent local men on its board. And the cemetery evolved, creating a Veterans burial plot for Union soldiers and sailors in 1896, a Fireman’s monument and burial plot in 1909, and a large mausoleum in 1914.

Webster did make improvements: a large gate was constructed at the top, near the B.B. & K railroad line, for the convenience of out-of-town funerals, thus avoiding the necessity of hiring a hearse and carriage. A system of waterworks was completed, drawing down water from the higher elevation, and an iron gate was erected on the east side, marking the entrance to the cemetery.

Today, maintenance of the cemetery has been challenging as the cemetery association struggles financially with little income based on donations and the very occasional burial. Like many, many cemeteries, Oak Hill Cemetery was established with no perpetual care fund. Pennsylvania law rectified this oversight for state cemeteries with Burial Grounds Title 9 of November 15, 1972 which insures that “a permanent lot care fund must be established for all new cemeteries or burial grounds. This fund should be used for the purpose of “care, maintenance, and preservation” of the cemetery or burial ground” but for Oak Hill Cemetery, which saw the majority of its burials prior to 1972, it’s an instance of “too little, too late.”

Fortunately, local businesses have been generous with their manpower and equipment, but it continues to be a struggle to maintain the grounds, trim trees and bushes, raise fallen tombstones, repair the roads, and keep the grass mowed which can cost $5,000 a mow and must be done at least 6 times a season. Today, 140 years later, burials in Oak Hill are few but the graves are many — there are nearly 16,500 graves located here. That’s almost double the current population of Bradford packed into 34 acres!