Deeded to the city in 1879, it is the burial place of prominent local citizens, pioneers, politicians, and performers.

The president of the Fort Worth National Bank, the institution that held the association's funds in trust, was required to be a director; of the remaining four members, two had to be women.

Among the first board members were Jennie Scott Scheuber, a local civic leader and the city's first librarian, and Major K.M.

In 1903, Fort Worth mayor T.J. Powell designated a section of the cemetery, known as Soldiers' Row, for the burial of Confederate Civil War veterans and their wives.

[3] Notable local individuals interred at Oakwood Cemetery include:[2][3] In December 2017, the 1,100-year-old remains of a Native American woman found by construction workers digging a trench in downtown Fort Worth were buried at Oakwood Cemetery in accordance with NAGPRA requirements; burial rites were performed by local Native American spiritual leaders.