History

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The following information was compiled from the OCA minutes, warranty deeds, and other documents of the OCA since 1909.

Olustee Cemetery was incorporated in 1909, however there is evidence of burial as early as 1893. The Olustee Cemetery Association (OCA) was established in 1909; E.G. Walcott, H.L. Hix and J.W. Edwards were the first Board of Directors. 

In 1911, Andrew Simmons of Denver, Colorado sold one acre of land, which included the already existing graves, to the OCA for $25. The OCA reorganized in 1941, bylaws were updated and a specific size of plots (12'x24') were establish. Notes in the minutes of the annual business meeting reflect plots in the original one acre of land were not "sold" prior to 1912 and therefore documentation of some early graves is almost non-existent. 

In 1942, John W. and wife, Nettie B. Edwards, sold one acre of land adjacent to the existing cemetery to the OCA for $50. June Edwards of Maricopa, Arizona, sold three acres of land adjacent to the cemetery to the OCA for $10 in 1967. 

Another five acres of land was added the cemetery since that time. The cemetery is currently 10 acres.

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Perpetual funding was established by Tom Brown of Lawton, Oklahoma. Mr. Brown donated 1,235 mutual fund shares of the National Security Series to the Olustee Cemetery and a group of donors contributed money in 1973 for the purpose of creating an account of proceeds "for the purposes of establishing a perpetual care fund for the Olustee Cemetery..."  The first designated Trustees were Dr. Willard D. Holt, L. A. Fessenden, and R. W. Phillips. Other recorded donors were Byrle Killian, W. E. Krapff, Charles M. McCaleb, Myda Truscott Thompson, Mrs. W. A. Moreau, Emory S. Crow, Iva Hudson (Mrs. Ralph Hudson), Cecil Drake, Edward Frye, and Alice L. French.

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