Ye who sometimes in your rambles

Through the green lanes of the country,

Where the tangled barberry-bushes

Hang their tufts of crimson berries,

Over stone walls gray with mosses;

Pause by some neglected graveyard,

For a while, to muse and ponder.

From The Song of Hiawatha

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I ventured south the other day,

To an extremely old cemetery;

To pay my respects to those buried there,

Never realizing just how long I would tarry.

As I stood at the Confederate Soldier Monument,

I heard a very slight rustling in the thick evergreens;

As I slowly turned in the direction of the noise,

A most enchanting sight was quickly seen.

There, before my eyes, stood a small group

Of wild, regal looking, furry gray foxes;

We gazed at each other in silence for awhile,

Then I walked over to my truck for some boxes.

Luckily, I always carry some provisions

For dogs or cats that I might find hungry;

And this extremely friendly fox family

Accepted my meager offerings with glee.

I silently watched these creatures

For the better part of an hour;

Marveling at their adaptability,

And at their sheer survival power.

I’ve since learned that numerous gray foxes

Have made Oak Woods Cemetery their home;

They must have traveled here along the railroad tracks,

Diligently searching for a quiet oaken forest to call their own.

I do not believe that the many human souls

Who are buried at old Oak Woods Cemetery,

Would really mind at all sharing this sacred place,

With such enchanting neighbors who aren’t a bit scary.

As I finally walked back to my truck that day,

I was very glad that I had decided to travel there;

And I’m extremely confident that I will return soon,

To ponder history, and to gaze at these creatures so rare.

Oak Woods is the most significant historic cemetery on Chicago's South Side.

Buried here are such renowned figures as Chicago Mayors Thompson and Washington; Olympian Jesse Owens; civil rights activist Ida B. Wells; and physicist Enrico Fermi.

One large section of Oak Woods is known as the ‘Confederate Mound.’ A 46-foot monument stands alone, surrounded by Civil War cannon and cannonballs. Buried around it are an estimated 6,000 soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy.

Camp Douglas was a nearby prisoner of war internment camp. Like all P.O.W. camps of its day, it was rife with communicable diseases – mainly smallpox and dysentery. Conditions were extremely appalling at the camp, and thousands of soldiers died there.

The cemetery was established in 1854, and the first burials took place in 1860.

In 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition was held only a few blocks north of Oak Woods, in what is now known as Jackson Park.

Besides its historic significance for humans, Oak Woods can now claim to be one of the few spots around metropolitan Chicagoland where the extremely shy, seldom seen, gray fox can still be observed.

Although gray foxes are canines, they are very cunning and quite catlike in behavior; and like cats, they can climb trees.  They are not seen nearly as often as their bigger cousin, the coyote, around Midwestern cities since they truly love peace and quiet.

I believe this old cemetery is the perfect place for them; and I sincerely hope they are allowed to remain here as long as they want to call this historic old graveyard their home.