A large and luxurious classical structure with a prominent cupola topped by a statue of Hope shaking her fist at heaven. At least that is how old Pa Pitt always reads the statue: it is certainly Hope (the anchor is her ID card), and Father Pitt doesn’t know what else to make of the raised-fist salute.
Ornate monograms flank the entrance arch.
A good example of the romantic style of the middle 1800s, which—as we can see here—lasted into the 1870s. These monuments were usually in marble or limestone, which erodes far too quickly in our climate—although it is often beautifully picturesque in its eroded state. This is Father Pitt’s best attempt at reading the inscription:
ANNIE F. WOOD,
WIFE OF
ROBERT J. GRIER
DIED MARCH 8, 1873
IN THE 32 YEAR OF HER
AGE.
We are fairly certain of the name “Annie F. Wood,” but almost all the other readings are subject to amendment.
There was also an epitaph in a kind of cartouche below the inscription, but it seems hopeless to try to interpret it now.
A simplified Doric mausoleum without entablature or any of the usual fiddly bits. It dates from 1885, but one could be forgiven for supposing it a twentieth-century modernist’s interpretation of classical style.
This glorious creation is what happens when monument makers design monuments the way illustrators imagine them: a very romantic interpretation of classical forms, including stylized Ionic capitals, swags, a shrouded urn, and classical foliage. Unfortunately the inscriptions have eroded into illegibility, but in certain lights some of the burial dates seem to be from the 1860s.
The variation in colors is mostly the result of using two different cameras.
