Oakland Cemetery: A Family Guide to Burial and Cremation Options

For families considering Oakland Cemetery for a loved one’s final resting place, this guide covers what burial there costs and how pricing works, the sections and requirements to know about, how we coordinate the day, practical visiting notes, and — for those who want it — the cemetery’s history.

We have no stake in Oakland Cemetery and no referral arrangement with it. When a family’s needs point to a cemetery with modern amenities — a mausoleum, a large columbarium — we recommend accordingly, and honestly.

What does burial at Oakland Cemetery cost in 2026?

Honestly: the cemetery sets these prices, they change, and published third-party numbers go stale quickly — so we quote none here. Current plot, niche, and opening/closing prices are available directly from the cemetery office, and when you work with us we obtain the current figures for you, in writing, before anything is committed. Oakland’s historic, simpler feature set generally places it at the more affordable end of the DFW range.

As DFW-market context from our cost-of-dying guide: in-ground plots across Dallas–Fort Worth typically run $2,500–$8,000 (premium garden and feature plots considerably more), opening and closing $1,500–$2,800 per interment, a vault or grave liner $700–$3,500 where required, cremation niches $1,200–$5,500, and monuments from about $1,500 through a separate monument company.

Whatever the cemetery’s current numbers are, our role costs nothing extra: cemetery charges are paid to the cemetery at cost, with no coordination fee and no markup from Vargas-London.

Which sections and requirements should families know about?

Oakland is a historic cemetery, and that shapes what it offers:

• Established 1894 — one of the oldest cemeteries in Dallas, with roughly 40 acres of historic sections and many multi-generational family plots.
• Limited or no mausoleum; the cemetery is primarily traditional in-ground burial, with modest options for cremated remains.
• Historic-section rules: marker styles and placements in older sections may be constrained to preserve character — confirm with the cemetery before ordering a monument.
• Open eligibility: Oakland is non-denominational and open to any family, though its deepest ties are to South Dallas’s African American community.

How does Vargas-London coordinate a burial at Oakland Cemetery?

We handle the cemetery end to end: first contact and section selection, a written comparison of the options, timing between the church or chapel service and the committal, transport and procession (with police escort if requested), casket or urn requirements, vault ordering, and the monument referral afterward. The graveside service itself typically runs 15–30 minutes; the cemetery completes the burial after the family departs, and the marker follows from the monument company some weeks later.

Families choosing Oakland usually choose it for lineage — joining relatives buried there across generations — and we handle the added title work older family plots sometimes require, confirming ownership and available space with the cemetery office before the service is scheduled. There is no upcharge for any of it — our published packages cover cemetery coordination at every DFW cemetery. Questions cost nothing either: (214) 550-7369, answered 24/7.

What should visiting families know?

Most DFW cemetery grounds are open from roughly 7 AM to dusk daily, with free visitor parking; call ahead to confirm hours. Flower policies vary by cemetery and section — fresh flowers are almost always welcome, while artificial arrangements, glass, and candles are often restricted. Ground maintenance is the cemetery’s job, not the family’s, and many cemeteries offer holiday flower-placement programs. Historic grounds mean uneven ground and mature trees; older family plots are worth photographing and recording, and the cemetery office can help locate century-old graves.

What is the history of Oakland Cemetery?

Oakland Cemetery was established in 1894 on land that became Malcolm X Boulevard, and for nearly 130 years it has been one of the most historically significant burial grounds of Dallas’s African American community. Generations of South Dallas family lines rest at Oakland, and for many families a burial there is a return to their own history — see our guide to the historic frame of the Oak Cliff home-going tradition.