The original plan for Oak Hill Cemetery was laid out in 1871 by Civil Engineer William Barker The sh

ape and area of the cemetery shifted and changed as the fledgling City of Birmingham became more established and defined. In its current state, Oak Hill Cemetery is divided into block sections. Initially, the cemetery was laid out with 15' by 30' family plots, separated by eight-foot walkways. All of the original lots run from south to north. Once the City grew beyond the cemetery, new areas in the northeast corner and the southeast corner were added in, and the new lots aligned with the streets. There are twenty-eight separate blocks.

In 1871 the City of Birmingham purchased from the Elyton Land Company 21.5 acres of land for a city cemetery, later named Oak Hill. As the first city cemetery, Oak Hill became the resting place for virtually all of the Birmingham pioneers.
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Oak Hill Cemetery’s (then known as City Cemetery) location on the South-facing slopes of North Birmingham offers some of the most spectacular vistas of the city. So much so that Oak Hill Cemetery has been placed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage and was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1977 — the first cemetery in the State of Alabama to be listed on this prestigious register.

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