Oak Cemetery
historic cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States
Oak Cemetery is a historic cemetery at Greenwood and Dodson Avenues in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Established in 1853, it is the city's oldest and largest cemetery, and the burial site of many of its most prominent citizens. The cemetery covers 35 acres (14 ha) and is estimated to have more than 11,000 burials. Noted burials include Fort Smith founder John Rogers.
The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
“Oak Cemetery” enters the record as historic cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Cemetery, historic and cemetery can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Oak Cemetery” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Cemetery, historic and cemetery provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19987351. Authority coordinates are 35.369, -94.402. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1853 and 1995.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Oak Cemetery”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Oak Cemetery primary sources, Oak Cemetery archive and Cemetery research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Oak Cemetery”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Oak Cemetery” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.