Wooldridge Monuments

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View from the entrance

The Wooldridge Monuments are a series of historic statues in Maplewood Cemetery in Mayfield . Henry G. Wooldridge had it built between 1892 and his death on May 30, 1899 to commemorate family members and others whom he loved and adored throughout his life. Wooldridge is the only person actually buried on the site. The collection of figures was later referred to as "The Strange Procession That Doesn't Move". The ensemble was listed as a site on the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 1980 .

history

When the last of the Wooldridge sisters died in 1892, he remained without close relatives, as he had not married during his life. This prompted him to buy a burial site in Maplewood Cemetery.

While Wooldridge was still alive, the monuments attracted attention, as reported in Republic of November 7, 1897. The stories that have been told include the legend that the statue of his niece Minnie actually represents a childhood sweetheart who fell victim to a riding accident and which is said to have been the reason why Wooldridge never married and that he was said to have been so stingy that he was buried with his money.

description

The ensemble has a footprint of five by ten meters. All eighteen monuments erected on it face east, like most of the other tombstones in this cemetery. Most striking is the practically life-size statue depicting Wooldridge, an approximately 180 centimeter high figure in the center of the marble tomb , which was made in Italy. Fourteen other statues surrounding Wooldridge's statue are carved from limestone and assume stiff poses. The largest of these is Wooldridge on his horse "Fop". The other limestone statues are 120 to 180 cm high, stand on 90 cm high plinths and represent other family members. Behind them are replicas of a fox, a fallow deer and two dogs chasing these; the dog figures are not provided with names, but represent the dogs Wooldridges, "Towhead" and "Bob". The respective sculptors from Mayfield and Paducah have neither before nor after created a similarly complex or ambitious work.

The female statues represent Wooldridge's mother Keziah, his sisters Minerva, Narcissa and Susan, and his nieces Maud and Minnie. The male figures represent his brothers Alfred, John, Josiah and WH. There is no figure that depicts Wooldridge's father.

The fence around the tomb was erected by the local Masonic lodge , replacing an old iron fence. Wooldridge was a Freemason.

To get to this tomb, you have to go through another listed monument, the Confederate Memorial Gates in Mayfield .

gallery

  • View to the northeast

  • Frontal view

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AIC
  2. ^ Wells 7.1
  3. ↑ The Strange Procession Which Never Moves , see Reigler
  4. ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 12, 2016
  5. ^ Wells 8.1
  6. ^ Wells 8.2, 8.3
  7. ^ CoM website
  8. ↑ Reigler
  9. ^ Wells 7.1
  10. ^ Wells 8.2
  11. ↑ City of Mayfield
  12. ^ Wells 7.2
  13. ^ Art Inventories Catalog

Coordinates: 36 ° 44 ′ 59 ″  N , 88 ° 38 ′ 9 ″  W.