Oakwood Cemetery

But the ceremony was more than a simple funeral; it marked the realization of one family’s dream, and hundreds of hours of hard work from a dedicated group of people determined to reopen a cemetery nearly as old as Rushford itself.The newly-opened Oakwood-Sherwood cemetery, located on the south side of State Highway 16 just east of Rushford, was actually established in 1870 by Charles Sherwood, a Connecticut native who came to Fillmore County in 1856. Sherwood, who would go on to become the youngest Lieutenant Governor in Minnesota, and serve for the Union army in the Civil War, bought many acres in the area, speculating that he could sell much of the land to the railroad when they laid track in the Root River valley. Unfortunately for Sherwood, those tracks would occupy land north of the river, rather than transect the acres he held deed to; all located south of the Root.Sherwood eventually left Rushford and re-settled in Tennessee, but before he departed he’d deeded five acres on a scenic knoll south of town to create a cemetery. Sherwood’s sister would be buried there, as would other area residents, known and unknown. Historians speculate that several plots in the cemetery are occupied by westbound travelers who succumbed to disease and accidents enroute, and one corner of the lot is dedicated as a “potter’s field” where penniless folk would find rest. Not long after Sherwood’s departure, it seemed the cemetery had fallen into disuse. Once-carefully tended grounds had been taken over by grass, shrubs, and eventually, trees. Only the presence of some original stone markers served as evidence of Sherwood’s original intent.That all changed in the 1950s, when a young employee of the MN Dept. of Transportation (MNDOT) began surveying ground for the creation of State Highway 16, between Rushford and Houston. “Mush was surveying that area in 1955, when he discovered the grounds for the Oakwood Cemetery,” said Rachel Ukkestad, Mush’s widow. “He kept talking about how ...