About | Lone Oak Cemetery

ABOUT LONE OAK CEMETERY

"Lone Oak was in use for almost 20 years before the land was deeded by Dr. Sydney J. Bouknight and his wife on January 3, 1884 to Josiah A. Lee, Obed Fussell and Josiah S. Dyches, as trustees of Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Lone Oak, and their successors in office. The deed was recorded November 1887, by which time W. W. Ward and Joel F. McClendon has been elected successors to Lee and Dyches." [ibid.]

Cremation Section in Lone Oak Cemetery, Leesburg, FL

The first recorded interment was that of Mrs. Minerva Howell, on February 2nd, 1867, and a pole fence was built around the grave to protect it from the "varmints", as the old settlers called the wild animals. A marble headstone now marks the site of this grave.

One day in January 1893, a number of Leesburg ladies met at the residence of Mrs. J. A. Hansbrough, for the purpose of organizing a Cemetery Improvement Association. Soon after this group became active, they erected a wrought iron fence around the cemetery grounds. This fence now lines the roadway in front of the historic section of the cemetery.

Today, it spans roughly 37 acres with traditional burial plots, a mausoleum and chapel, columbarium spaces for urns, cremation gardens, and areas for specific communities (e.g., Catholic section).

The cemetery is Leesburg’s oldest burial ground and contains the graves of community pioneers, veterans from conflicts dating from the Mexican-American War onward, and notable local figures, including Norma Hendricks, Leesburg’s first female mayor.

Lone Oak includes a section dedicated to veterans and hosts events like “Wreaths Across America” to honor military service. Among those interred is Staff Sergeant Franklin P. Hall, a WWII airman whose remains were identified and returned to Leesburg decades after being listed as non-recoverable.

The cemetery remains a focal point for community heritage, including annual moonlight tours highlighting its historic graves and stories from the late 1800s onward.