John Peter Smith_Oakwood Cemetery Founder

Pioneer area settler John Peter Smith (1831-1901), who donated twenty acres for the establishment of this cemetery, came to Fort Worth from Kentucky in 1853. He served the community as a teacher, clerk, surveyor, and attorney, and became a noted civic leader. Although opposed to the secession of Texas during the Civil War, Smith raised a company of Tarrant County men for the Confederacy and joined Sibley's Brigade in 1861. While in the war he served in the unsuccessful invasion of New Mexico, the recapture of Galveston in 1863, and was severely wounded at Donaldsville, Louisiana, later that year. After the war Smith returned to Fort Worth, where he became involved in the development of the city. He helped organize a bank, gas light company, and street railway. He also gave land for city parks, cemeteries, including this site in 1879, and a hospital, later named in his honor. In 1882 he became mayor and directed the establishment of many public services, such as the school system and the water department. In 1901 Smith died in St. Louis, Missouri, while on a promotional trip for Fort Worth. He is buried in a section of Oakwood Cemetery that is part of the original acreage he donated to the city. (1981)

John Peter Smith_Oakwood Cemetery Founder is a historical marker in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, dedicated in 1981. It is one of 354 historical markers documented in Tarrant County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 458 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7721, -97.3466 near Fort Worth. The nearest cataloged historic site is William Madison McDonald (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Euday Lewis Bowman, General Thomas N. Waul, C.S.A., and Governor Charles A. Culberson.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5439002800. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.