62-acre historic cemetery deeded to Fort Worth in 1879 — final rest of cattle barons, gunfighters, and gambler Luke Short, with reported orbs, a 'white phantom' figure, and a 'Bartender's Row' from Hell's Half Acre.
701 Grand Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76164
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Cemetery is free to visit during posted hours. Saints & Sinners Tour and other organized events priced separately.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Mix of paved interior cemetery roads and grass/dirt around individual plots; rolling terrain on the north side of the Trinity River
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1879 · National Register of Historic Places (2018) · Frontier-era and Hell's Half Acre burial site · Burial of gunfighter Luke Short and former marshal Jim Courtright
Oakwood Cemetery occupies 62 acres on the north side of the Trinity River, just across from downtown Fort Worth. The cemetery was deeded to the city in 1879 by John Peter Smith — known as 'the Father of Fort Worth' for his role in shaping the city's early institutions. From the 1880s through the early 20th century, Oakwood became the principal burial ground for Fort Worth's founding families, cattle barons, mayors, Confederate veterans, educators, and a strikingly broad cross-section of the city's frontier-era population.
The cemetery's most-cited individual interment is Luke Short — the gambler, gunfighter, and saloon owner who killed former marshal Timothy 'Longhair Jim' Courtright in the February 8, 1887 White Elephant Saloon gunfight. Both Short and Courtright are buried at Oakwood, in graves that have become regular ghost-tour stops. The cemetery additionally contains 'Bartender's Row,' a section associated with figures from Hell's Half Acre saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos.
Other notable burials include cattle baron and rancher families, Confederate Civil War veterans, members of bricklayer and bartender union locals, mayors of Fort Worth, and figures from the city's African American historic community in adjacent sections (Oakwood includes a separately demarcated section historically known as Trinity Cemetery for African American burials).
Oakwood Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The North Fort Worth Historical Society and Oakwood Cemetery Association co-steward the property; the annual Saints & Sinners Tour in October is the signature interpretive event.
Sources
According to RJA Ghost Tours, visitors to Oakwood Cemetery have reported eerie orbs photographed near the graves of frontier-era residents, glowing or seemingly self-lit tombstones, and a spectral 'white phantom' figure that moves among the older sections after sunset. The Fort Worth Magazine 'Walk in Oakwood Cemetery' feature documents the cemetery as a destination for both historical and paranormal interest, weaving the graves of Luke Short, Jim Courtright, and the Bartender's Row figures into a broader Fort Worth frontier-violence narrative.
Ghosts & Getaways' 'Ghosts of Fort Worth' coverage cites Oakwood among the city's principal paranormal stops, describing reports as concentrated around the gunfighter and saloon-keeper graves and the older 19th-century plots. Per Tui Snider — author of 'Paranormal Texas' and the principal contemporary chronicler of North Texas cemetery lore — Oakwood draws ongoing paranormal interest but is best engaged through the annual Saints & Sinners Tour, where costumed historians portray cemetery residents in a documented-history format rather than a sensationalized ghost-hunt setup.
Oakwood's paranormal lore is atmospheric and tied to historical figures rather than to specific named ghostly entities — there is no analog here to Miss Molly's 'Miss Josie' or the White Elephant's Longhair Jim. Paranormal claims at Oakwood are framed as residual and place-based, consistent with the cemetery's role as the resting place of nearly every major figure from Fort Worth's violent frontier era.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk the 62-acre grounds and visit the graves of Luke Short (victor of the 1887 White Elephant gunfight), Jim Courtright (his nemesis), Fort Worth founder John Peter Smith, and figures from Hell's Half Acre saloons and bordellos. The cemetery's 'Bartender's Row' marks a cluster of vice-district graves.
Each October the North Fort Worth Historical Society stages the Saints & Sinners Tour — costumed historians portray Oakwood's residents (cattle barons, gunfighters, madams, mayors) at their graves. The signature ticketed event for engaging with the cemetery's frontier-era population.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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