The cemetery is just over three miles west of Grandview on FM 916, where the Oakland community once was. Placed by the Johnson County Historical Commission, a sign at the front of the cemetery provides some history and clearly notes that these two headstones were left behind in 1937 as a "remembrance":
Oakland Cemetery occupies 2 acres and includes approximately 90 stone markers and several unmarked graves.
Phillip Walker (1815-1897) came to Johnson County in 1855. In 1860 he bought land west of Grand View on the site of an old Indian village near "Walker Spring." He was a veteran of the Texas War for Independence from Mexico. He gave money to establish a school. John Collier, Headmaster, named the area "Oakland". A student at the school, Sallie A. Gentry, received the first marked burial in 1886. Sallie was only 10 years old.
In 1936 Phillip and Elizabeth Walker's bodies were removed to the Texas State Cemetery. Their headstones remain as a remembrance.
Others interred include Mrs. Merriman (Tellitha) Cooper, widow of Pvt. Cooper, Confederate POW, who died in captivity at Camp Douglas, Il. and Dr. Samuel Hamilton who served the community as both a physician and Methodist Episcopal minister.
Grandview Cemetery Association has maintained Oakland Cemetery since 1981. Historic Cemetery Status was awarded by Texas Historical Commission in 2007 and Johnson County Historical Commission recognized Oakland as a County Historic Landmark in 2019.
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The gravesite in Austin is here, while one can find the original headstones together at this waymark's coordinates. Mr. Walker's Findagrave page is some good reading, noting that he was part of the detail that had the responsibility of burying Fannin's men after Goliad (the narrative refers to the Alamo), and after the Battle of San Jacinto, he guarded Santa Ana before the general was turned over to higher authorities. In quieter times, he was a farmer and cattleman.
There's not much to be found about Mrs. Walker, but Findagrave notes that Mr. Walker remarried (1874) after her passing, with no indication as to the fate of his second wife, Eleanor (Laney). The Oakland Ranch, just down the road from here, is on the land they owned.
Mr. Walker's original headstone is a marble obelisk, about 10' tall, with the family name on the back plinth. There are inscriptions on both the front and back:
In Memory of
Philip
Walker
Born
in South Carolina
Mar. 11, 1815
Died
at Oakland Texas
July 11, 1897
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Fought to achieve the
independence of Texas
in 1836
Take good heed unto
yourselves, that ye love
the Lord your God.
Joshua 23:11.
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Mrs. Walker's original headstone features an arch, presumably the gate into Heaven, with a set of hands reaching down from the clouds, and a dove of peace bearing an olive branch at the bottom. The inscription reads:
Sacred
To the
Memory of
Mrs Elizabeth
Walker
Born
Oct 21st 1827.
Died
July 22nd 1868.
Remember as you
pass by you
must die as well
as I.