
There are three entrances to the cemetery, two on the south side from East State Street and one on the west side from East Van Buren Street. Oakland is the largest cemetery in Appanoose County. Many prominent citizens of the area are buried here. General Francis M. Drake, Civil War General and Governor of Iowa; Captain M.M. Walden, Lt. Governor of Iowa and a U.S. Senator from Iowa; John K. Valentine, Lt. Governor of Iowa are just a few of the notable graves.
The cemetery was started around 1851. There is a chapel, World War I memorial arch, military veterans memorial and over 9,000 gravesites all set in peaceful rolling hills with many trees, a stream and bridges.