Stranger's Rest

Founded in 1852, historic Oakwood Cemetery is in the center of downtown Niagara Falls. It is the final resting place for over 22,000 residents. Some of its most interesting, and famous, resi-dents are buried in a triangular shaped plot known as Strangers’ Rest. Among them are ordinary townsfolk, travelers, tourists, stunters, and daredevils.

Old maps reveal that Strangers’ Rest has been a part of Oakwood Cemetery since the 1850s. When the cemetery was established, the bodies and tombstones from the original burial grounds were relocated to Oakwood and plots like Strangers’ Rest. John Rish is ‘reburied’ there, having died in 1803 at the age of fifteen. He is perhaps the oldest resident in the cemetery. 

Francis Abbott, known as the ‘Hermit of Niagara,’ is buried there too. When he visited Niagara Falls in 1829, he was so impressed that he decided to stay. For two years, Abbott lived in a log hut on Goat Island near the Falls. He was an eccentric loner who spent his days and nights roaming the island. He drowned in 1831 while bathing in the river below the Falls. 

Elizabeth Howe is also buried in Strangers’ Rest. In 1919, she moved to Niagara Falls to estab-lish the International Institute. Howe was a social worker and women’s rights advocate whose work at the Institute helped thousands of immigrant women adjust to new life in Niagara Falls. She died in 1922.

At the front of Strangers’ Rest are some of the most popular gravesites. Here lie the daredevils and stunters “[j]ust a few miles from the falls which lured and, in many cases—killed them.”

Take Captain Matthew Webb. He was the first person to successfully swim the English Channel, but he didn’t survive the Whirlpool Rapids when he challenged the waters on July 24, 1883. 

There’s Carlisle D. Graham, an English barrel maker who lived in Philadelphia. Between 1886 and 1889, he made four successful trips through the Whirlpool Rapids in an oak barrel designed, of course, by his own making. 

And most famous of all, Annie Edson Taylor. On October 24, 1901--her 63rd birthday--Taylor be-came the first person to travel over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel and live to tell the tale. She is also credited with making Oakwood Cemetery famous because visitors from all over the world come to the cemetery just to see her grave. 



These are just a few stories about Strangers’ Rest. Visitors can learn more by booking a general walking tour or a daredevil tour. Oakwood Cemetery also holds a variety of special events throughout the year.

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.