Should Oak Hill Cemetery be Considered a Park?

Oak Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg, VA is where much of my family is buried. I don't get up there much nowadays, but when I do go to visit it, the energy is always peaceful. Cemeteries function not only as a place for visiting loved ones, but as a place to clear the mind as well. 

I don't think I would call this cemetery a park as it's more of a suburban graveyard; the walkability of the entire area is very straight forward, but there are hardly any benches and shade. I think the only benches are around the newest building they put up in the last decade. It's divided up into very bland blocks with a couple of trees in the middle, so I do wonder if that cluster is where the cemetery started out from. The area is enclosed within its own space by trees separating one from the rest of town and traffic that's right outside the gates, but but the absence of shade makes it unbearable on hot days. If one wishes to visit another person on the other side of the cemetery, there will be little adventure and it's also really easy to get lost because everything looks the same unless you're paying specific attention. The various designs of gravestones give a nice display of artwork, but besides that, it's missing a lot. 

It's not a glorious cemetery, but I can go over and sit next to my father's grave and not feel uncomfortable; however, I wouldn't consider it a place I'd want to come and take a walk every day. Below is a sketch I did of my father's headstone who passed away back in June of 2021. The items on the right are three pieces I left: a life-like heart candle (my father had heart disease), an eagle statue, and a selenite crystal. 

As a side note: the cemetery is also becoming really crowded, and I find it interesting as a planning student to be able to see the expansion in the image below from Google Maps.