Quinn-Mc Gowen Funeral Home
5.0(69)
315 Willow Woods Dr, Wilmington, NC 28409
CremationFuneral Service+3
520 N 15th St, Wilmington, NC 28401
Services
The 100-acre cemetery operates as an outdoor museum and arboretum with distinct architectural zones. The original Victorian sections feature curvilinear drives, masonry walls, and mature canopy vegetation. The 1992 Live Oak Section incorporates historic 1896 gateposts at its 15th Street entrance. Memorial Park covers approximately 40 acres with expansion capacity. Specialized areas include the enclosed Hebrew Cemetery (1855), Masonic section, Odd Fellows plot, and Yellow Fever public grounds (1862). The cemetery gates remain open 365 days annually from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM; administrative offices operate Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Oakdale operates as a cemetery-only provider, coordinating with families and funeral homes for interment services. All burial sections require minimum purchases and maintain specific marker regulations.
Oakdale Cemetery stands as the oldest rural cemetery in North Carolina, chartered by the General Assembly on December 27, 1852. The original proprietors purchased 65 acres east of Burnt Mill Creek for $1,100—five blocks beyond Wilmington's town boundaries at the time. Surveyor Louis C. Turner designed the picturesque Victorian grounds, laying out sections A through H with curvilinear avenues winding through hilly terrain, depressed drives, and raised plots behind masonry walls.
The cemetery has grown to approximately 100 acres through multiple expansions. The original Victorian sections sold out by World War II, followed by the 1945 Annex Extension and 1950 Memorial Garden—both shifting to grid-plan "lawn" style layouts. The 1992 Live Oak Section revived above-grade monuments using gateposts from the 1896 entrance designed by architect James F. Post. Today Oakdale remains an active cemetery offering traditional burial, cremation inurnment, and extensive historical programming including guided walking tours and a searchable burial database spanning over 21,000 interments.
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