Oak Grove Cemetery Tour

Sights and stories bring one of Maine’s only “Garden Cemeteries” to Live on this seasonal tour

On this fun and fascinating guided tour, you will learn:

• Why Bath, Maine’s first women’s club hosted an anti-suffrage speaker

• Who kept house back in Bath, Maine for New York’s Ice King while he was hobnobbing with the Morgans and Rockefellers

• The contents of a shocking letter a Civil War hero’s sweetheart sent him after learning he was surrounded by the enemy at Antietam

• Why a shipbuilder’s daughter sued her father’s estate - and what happened next

• Why the friends and neighbors of a prominent Bath citizen had to surround his house to protect it from a violent mob

• How Bath, Maine’s billionaire business man almost became vice president of the United States, and what he said about the man who won

About this tour: Bath, Maine’s Oak Grove Cemetery is home to thousands of graves, monuments, mausoleums and sarcophagi. The breathtaking park like setting was designed in the late 1800s as a part of a nationwide movement to create “garden cemeteries” - making the formerly frightening places more comforting, restful, and peaceful. Bath residents made picnics and partook in recreation at this true haven for the living among the dead. Though the oldest graves are from the 18th century, the majority are from the 19th century, Bath’s shipping and shipbuilding heyday. 

On this tour, you will discover the enduring stories of the people buried here, as well as the cemetery history and features. Add in grave folklore, iconography, traditions and evolutions over time, and you will find yourself at home here very soon-but not too soon. The sights and stories on this thought-provoking tour, led by a local educator, will take you back in time, but not forever. 🖤

What this tour is NOT: It is *not* a ghost tour, so manage any "grave expectations." 🪦 We will fill the "dead space" 💀 with some light-hearted riffs at tombs ⚰️ it may concern, and we will not discourage any spectral encounters that may arise. 👻

Details: This 75 minute tour, 3/4 mile walk is on mostly level dirt roads, with some grassy hills and mild rocky areas. Tour Launch Price: $15 per person. *At least $5 from each tour ticket sold will go directly to Bath’s Department of Cemeteries and Parks, to support cemetery upkeep.*

Hot tip: Once you book, you will receive a confirmation with more details, but here is a sneak peek of where the tour starts, with information about parking, too.

Nice to know: If you are joining for an afternoon tour, you may want to check the sunset time and bring a flashlight. Water bottles are always encouraged. There are few or no places to rest/sit. If mobility is an issue for anyone in your group, you might want to bring a portable stool to sit on, or contact Meg with questions about a shortened route.