This markers contains a great deal of imagery. The broken column represents a life cut short. The hourglass serves as a reminder as that life on earth is short. The angel with staff represents Father Time. A fuller explanation is that the symbols collectively communicate the story of the Weeping Virgin.
Founded in 1829 and expanded in 1877, Live Oak Cemetery features many original markers. It is a contributing property to the Selma Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s noted for the dozen or so Victorian monuments in the cemetery. It earned its name after Colonel Dawson donated 80 Live Oaks and 80 Magnolia trees to be planted in the cemetery.
Built for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 21-acre park served as a gathering spot for many activities during the Olympics. After the Olympics, the park now serves as the centerpiece for many activities, such as parades, concerts, fairs, and protests. When events are not happening, people gather to enjoy the dancing water fountains and other activities surrounding the park.
Located in Mount Hope Cemetery in Lumpkin County, Georgia, there is a beautifully handcrafted monument designed by Thomas Scanlin. I am unsure of who sculpted his design.
Scanlin, an artist who ran Studio Jewelers, created jewelry in downtown Dahlonega until 2019. Outside of being a jeweler, he collected the art of Howard Finster.
The monument consists of panels of Emily Dickinson poetry and motifs of animals and plant life.
These photos do not give this monument Justice. If you are in Dahlonega, visit Mount Hope Cemetery to see this in person.
The corners
Some of the motifs
Two of the panels featuring poetry by Emily Dickinson
Established in the 1870s, the Silver Brook Cemetery is the second city cemetery established by the town of Anderson. It’s a 40 acre cemetery with over 15,000 burials. It is at capacity, and no more plots are available for purchase.
The cemetery features several Victorian monuments.
Located in Gaffney, South Carolina, the Jennings Trading Post is still an active store. Based on my research, it’s been around since at least the 1940s.
The Greenberry McCalla grave in the Old Stone Church Cemetery in Catoosa County highlights a few different examples of Victorian symbolism.
The grasping hands means the person was married when they passed away. In this case, Nancy McCalla outlived her husband by 28 years.
The closed book resting on the top of the grave means a long life, well lived.
There are several Rose Hill Cemeteries. This one is in Barrow County, Georgia near Winder. Monuments to children always have an air of sadness to them. I love the details of the little girl and the vase with flowers.
While not a fully handmade marker, I classify this as a vernacular marker for Eddie Parker (1976-2002) because whoever made this was using readily available materials to create it. This is located in the Douglas City Cemetery, Coffee County, Georgia.
Still, an active cemetery, the Jonesboro City Cemetery highlights a combination of Victorian monuments, handmade markers, and manufactured ones. It also illustrates that it was a segregated cemetery. The Black section sits at the back of the cemetery, and it has several markers showing men and women who were born into slavery but lived past the end of the Civil War.
Designed by Richard Cecchini, the Sheppard monument represents Christ at Gethsemane. It’s listed on the Smithsonian’s Save Outdoor Sculpture database.
Orphans Cemetery is located near Eastman in Dodge County, Georgia. It is a small, well-maintained cemetery that features the beautiful Williamson Mausoleum.
Albert Genavie Williamson and his five younger, orphaned brothers moved to Eastman around 1873. Williamson was an entrepreneur who donated the land for the Orphans Christian Church and cemetery.
According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination, A. G. Williamson had this monument built out by the Cordele Consolidated Marble Company after meeting a monument salesman. Made out of of Carrara marble, it was sculpted from a family photograph. It features Mr. Williamson, his wife Martha, and his nephew, Jay Gould Williamson. Interestingly, Jay is buried on St. Simon’s in the Christ Church graveyard.
Outside of the artistic merit of the monument, it’s apparently unusual to find a funerary monument of three people together like this one.
It was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
