Oakwood Cemetery
Scavenger Hunt 
Oakwood Cemetery Scavenger Hunt Like many prestigious and prominent burial grounds throughout the United States, Oakwood Cemetery offers universal and uncommon monuments for viewing. Visitors will examine and identify images, symbols and designs on the markers which are commonly referred to as funerary iconography. Oakwood Cemetery created this list of common and unique emblems and icons along with a picture and explanation of their cultural, ethnic or religious significance. We hope you enjoy exploring our grounds while updating and improving your understanding of our shared iconographic heritage.
The Cross – A symbol associated with the Christian religion. A Cross could denote the religious belief of the interred, the wishes of the family or possibly the slave owner.
The Lamb – A symbol depicting innocence and purity. Often placed on graves of children.
The Dove – The universal symbol of peace, rebirth and purity. It holds religious meaning for Christianity as the Holy Spirit.
Clasped Hands – A sign of unity and a salute or farewell to living. Hands Pointing Up – Pointing to Heaven, moving on to the afterlife. FLT (in chains) – The Independent Order of Odd Fellows F – Friendship L – Love T – Truth
Chains – Symbol of unity Square
Compass – Often associated with the Freemasons (Masons)
The Urn – Symbolizes the Soul, the Spirit and human vitality.
Roses – Meaning beauty, timeless beauty and tranquility.
Lilies – Represent Purity, Chastity and Resurrection
Weeping Willow – A symbol that means mourning, grief and even immortality
Sunflowers – Devoted, faithful and reliable in both life and faith. Books – They symbolize wisdom, accomplishment and knowledge. May represent a clergyman or a devout religious person, usually of the Christian faith or the Holy Bible.
Drapes/Curtains – They stand for mourning and remembrance. Also symbolize crossing-over or passage to the afterlife.
Woodmen of the World – A fraternal organization know for their extravagant and unique monuments.
This are some of the common and unique symbols found in Oakwood Cemetery. There are many more to be discovered. What else did you find?
Teacher 101
How to Incorporate Oakwood Cemetery to a Lesson
Now it may seem strange to integrate a cemetery into a lesson plan, but this would be a great way to get students actively engaged in learning about the past. After searching for TEKS that match Sam Houston and Slavery the best grade level for this kind of project would be seventh. These Social Studies students are learning about Texas History, starting from the Age of Contact and ending with Contemporary Texas. This cemetery can be brought into the lesson when mentioning Sam Houston however, lead into the discussion of slavery. Oakwood Cemetery is a historical burial site located off 9th Street across from Mance Park Middle School in Huntsville, Texas. It is the burial grounds of Sam Houston, but also the burial grounds of his former slave Joshua Houston. The section that Joshua is buried is in the African American grounds where former slaves rest, this section was recently excavated by Texas Department of Corrections and crosses were placed where there was an assumed grave. There are still currently some original gravestones with names of former slaves buried. How to connect the lesson with the cemetery would be to talk about slavery prior to visiting the cemetery, highlight key facts but mainly focus on how this African American section is being presented, and then discuss as a class the lives these former slaves may have lived and who they are.
To drive this activity home after visiting such a historically rich site have the students engage in a writing assignment associated with slavery. Some examples of this would be to write a paper over slavery, create a newspaper article over slavery, explain how heritage can be traced back to this cemetery, or even write a diary entry as a former slave, what a slaves daily life consisted of. Oakwood Cemetery hopes that these suggestions can be used to further educate and inspire younger generations to become actively involved in learning about the past, and looking ahead at a bright future for the seventh grade students.
Education Opportunities
