For more information on the history of Oak Mound Cemetery and those buried there, or any other inquiries, please contact the Oak Mound Cemetery Association at [email protected]

On June 27, 1901, a cemetery association was organized at the Oak Mound Congregational Church (then named "Plymouth Congregational Church of Kragnes") in Kragnes Township.

The first officers and charter members of the association were Alfred Olson, President; H. Jacob Nelson, Vice President; J. T. "Tom" Gee, Secretary; and Louis P. Simondson, Treasurer; Rev. Donald G. Colp, Alexander K. Johnson, Michael Higgins, Charles A. Swanson, Edmund F. Parker, Nels P. Nelson, Martin Anderson, Martin W. Gee, Gustave K. Gunderson, and Nels Larson.

The cemetery was to be located behind the Oak Mound Church on the original 2-acre parcel donated to the church by Louisa Newcombe and Martin & Jennie (Newcombe) Gee in May, 1900. It is in the NW¼ of the NW¼ of Section 32, Kragnes Township, Clay County, Minnesota.

During the first year trees and brush were cleared from the cemetery site in preparation for selling lots, which were sized at 16'x20' with ten graves per lot. Later this was reduced to eight graves per lot when coffins were replaced with caskets and burial vaults became standard. Alfred and Annie Olson purchased the first lot on Jan. 11, 1902 for $10.00.

On Nov. 15, 1901, a meeting was held and it was voted to call the cemetery, "Oak Mound Cemetery." Likewise, the organization was named the "Oak Mound Cemetery Association." This is the first time the name "Oak Mound" has appeared in the community's history. The meeting minutes do not disclose the author of the name Oak Mound.

It should be noted that while the name has been commonly misspelled as "Oakmound," the correct spelling is in fact, "Oak Mound." This is how it was spelled when the cemetery was given the name in 1901, and early records of community organizations have also verified this. The name is derived from the natural mound on which the cemetery is located, with its abundance of bur oak trees. On three sides, the cemetery is surrounded by a winding coulee that runs through the community. This area eventually became known as "Oak Mound, Minnesota," and today is referred to as the "Oak Mound Community."

On July 3, 1902, the cemetery association's constitution and by-laws were adopted and signed by: Tom Gee, Charles Swanson, Martin Anderson, John Fredrickson, Jacob Nelson, Alfred Olson, and Martin Gee.

It is evident that there was a need for the cemetery as there were five burials the first year and eighteen burials the first six years the cemetery was operational. Ellen Maria Fredrickson was the cemetery's first burial on Jan. 20, 1903.

A white picket fence was completed around the entire cemetery on June 30, 1905. It was constructed by the church members and a carpenter was hired to build the gate. The cemetery's name was painted on the gate's arch by Gust Gunderson.

In 1911, William Gilbery dug a well with his well machine which provided water for the church and cemetery. A new well was dug in 1952, and the present well was dug in 1967 when a basement was added beneath Oak Mound Church.

Aviatrix Florence (Gunderson) Klingensmith is the most famous person buried in the cemetery. The daughter of Gust and Flossie (Parker) Gunderson, she grew up and attended school at Oak Mound, and became the first licensed female aviator in Clay County, Minnesota and the State of North Dakota in 1929. She won various awards and held several aviation world records during her career. She died tragically young when her plane crashed in 1933 at the International Air Races in Chicago.

A lawn mower was purchased for individuals to use to mow their lots in 1940. This method of mowing did not work well, so in 1955, church members, with the help of others in the community, started mowing the churchyard and cemetery as needed, generally on a weekly basis. This method continued until 2019 when it was voted to hire out the lawn care.

A brick and wrought iron gate was installed with memorial money from the Milton Gee family after his death in 1974. The original picket fence was removed in 1986 and replaced by black, vinyl chain-link fencing. A new front fence and gate rebuild was donated by the Brendemuhl family in 2022.

The cemetery was expanded to the north in 1933 and 1942. It was expanded to the east in 1946 and a ½ acre was purchased from Milton Gee, Sr. It was most recently expanded in May, 1983 when another ½ acre was purchased from the Gee family.

Due to a flooded basement and lack of membership, Oak Mound Church closed on July 31, 2011. The approximately 3 acres were deeded to the Oak Mound Cemetery Association in Nov., 2017. The church building was razed on Nov. 6, 2020.

Annual cemetery association meetings are still held, followed by a potluck meal.