President Monroe's "Gothic Temple"

I admit, I have never cared to call President Monroe's grave "the birdcage" as some Richmonders do, and have always tried to use the National Parks Services' description by calling it “a granite sarcophagus surrounded by a flamboyant Gothic Revival cast iron canopy” but that's a mouthful. This morning, I stumbled upon this article from the Richmond Dispatch, May 30,1859. Now, I will refer to it as James Monroe's Gothic Temple!

In 1859, the Commonwealth of Virginia installed Alfred Lybrock‘s design. Monroe’s tomb firmly established Hollywood as one of the foremost places of burial in Virginia.

Here's a picture that I took in 2017 after President Monroe's grave in Hollywood Cemetery had been restored.

 

a cemetery ghost story told in newspaper clippings

The story begins that there is a thrilling sensation of a ghost in Hollywood Cemetery (Alexandria Gazette, June 15, 1870) but sadly while some believe it is a real ghost, it's probably the fiancee of one of the individuals who was at the Virginia Capitol collapse on April 27, 1870, when several hundred people were crowded onto the second floor when the gallery gave way and fell to the courtroom floor, which killed 62 people (including a grandson of Patrick Henry) and injured hundreds others. This article presumes that this woman who keeps returning to Hollywood is the fiancee of one of the individuals killed (The Baltimore Sun, Jun 15, 1870). But real life is more frightening than fiction because this poor woman keeps returning to her lover's grave and even digs a hole making a little bed for herself until the superintendent of the asylum takes her in (Memphis Daily Appeal, Jun 26, 1870). And even a stay in the asylum does not make her better (of course not, it was 1870!) so this poor woman with the last name Smith is taken to the Henrico jail (Richmond Dispatch, August 19, 1870.)

Alexandria Gazette, June 15, 1870

The Baltimore Sun, June 15, 1870

Memphis Daily, June 26, 1870

Richmond Dispatch, August 19, 1870

Bernie visits W.W. Pool in Hollywood Cemetery

 

It’s cold out there, Richmond! When you’re visiting W.W. Pool and Hollywood Cemetery, bundle up!

credit: Sharon Pajka

Bernie meme creator: Selena Miller

Physically distancing in Hollywood Cemetery

 

Blandford Cemetery-second largest cemetery in Virginia

 

Blandford Cemetery is located in Petersburg, Virginia. The oldest stone reads 1702. The cemetery is 189 acres, which makes it the second largest cemetery in Virginia with Arlington National Cemetery as the largest. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Exiting Mount Hebron, Winchester, Virginia

 

Returned to this beautiful cemetery again today. I don’t have a fancy phone holder so I hooked this to my visor. The view was just too breathtaking not to capture. Also, yes, I know, I need to clean my windshield.

The grave of author VC Andrews

 

The grave of author VC Andrews

The transcript is below. A YouTube video with captions is posted in the comments.

Transcript:

hi I'm Sharon with River City Cemetarians and today I am in Portsmouth

Virginia at Olive Branch Cemetery also known as City Park Cemetery I'm at the

grave of Cleo Virginia Andrews better known to many of you as VC Andrews the

popular novelist of Flowers in the Attic published in

1979. Unfortunately Ms. Andrews didn't live a decade after the publication; she

passed away from breast cancer in 1986. Interesting enough, Simon & Schuster

didn't announce the author's death for four years. The estate used a ghostwriter

and they still do today.

Masonic Cemetery in Fredericksburg, VA

Outside of the Masonic Cemetery in Fredericksburg, VA at the grave of Christiana Campbell.

 

Transcript below (captioned YouTube video posted in comments):

I'm Sharon with River City Cemetarians and today I'm standing outside the

Masonic Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I was really

excited about coming out today but with COVID-19, it appears that the

cemetery gates are locked. Fortunately for me I was able to find

the gravestone that I was looking for which is right behind me. You'll see

Christiana Campbell. She became one of the capital's most

prominent tavern keepers and when I say capital, I'm talking about

Williamsburg, Virginia. She specialized in offering what was

described as "genteel accommodations and the very best entertainment." Her

clientele included George Washington and also Thomas Jefferson. Now

when Richmond became the capital in 1780, many of the tavern owners and merchants

moved to the new capital. Ms. Campbell actually decided to stay in Williamsburg

and then eventually retired there. Her tavern,

she passed away in 1792 but her tavern continued

to operate under new hands until 1859 when it did burn down.

Then Colonial Williamsburg Foundation actually reconstructed her tavern

in 1956. so if you've been a tourist

to Colonial Williamsburg, you may have heard of Christiana Campbell

and here is her grave right behind me.

River City Cemetarians presents: Reading the Dead! Ellen Glasgow

 

River City Cemetarians presents: Reading the Dead!

A virtual discussion of stories and poetry from those interred in our Richmond-area cemeteries. This is an opportunity for us to dig deeper (pun intended) into the writers and poets who are buried here in Richmond, VA.

We’ll begin our discussion with one of Ellen Glasgow's stories, "The Past" (SAT, MAY 30 AT 11 AM)

Ms. Glasgow is buried in Hollywood Cemetery. With 135 acres, it is a beautiful place to take a walk while remaining physically distant from others.

Please see our EVENTS in Facebook for details.

Stay safe! (P.S. it's impossible for me to say Glasgow without a thick Southern accent! It sounds so right in my head! )

YouTube video has English captions: https://youtu.be/sLJ7zxvXoC8