Mausoleums / Columbariums 6/9/2011

 

Greenwood Cemetery Mausoleum (Owen Sound, Ont.)

By Janet Iles

The Mausoleum is centrally located within the cemetery. You can get to it from different roads within the cemetery, but the most direct route for most, is to enter through the southern entrance off 2^nd Avenue East. Drive toward the office (formerly the home of the custodian) and then turn right. There before you on your left will be the Mausoleum

The Mausoleum was built in 1927. The exterior is covered in Indiana limestone. The inside is of Italian marble.  The building holds 255 crypts and has two family rooms, the Butchart family and the Harrison family. Each family room has a stained glass window.

The large centre chapel is used for committal services during the winter, from December to the end of April, and when the ground is soft and not safe for people and cars at the burial sites during the rest of the year. From the centre there are branches to the left and right with crypts on both sides.  There are stained glass windows at the end of each branch. There are also crypts off the chapel area.

I did not realize the beauty of the interior until I went on a tour of the cemetery that included the mausoleum. When I had attended committal services before this, my focus had been on the service and not on the surroundings. In the 1990s, the interior of the chapel was refurbished with original wall architecture, plaster and colour.

There have been entombments there through the years. The earliest date of death that I noticed on the inscriptions was for Dr. William McDonald who died 10 August 1924 at the age of 54 in Owen Sound. This was a couple of years before the opening of the mausoleum. The cemetery day book may indicate the location of the original burial and when it was moved. The earliest death date, after the building of the mausoleum, was for Jean Robson (nee Armstrong), known as Jennie Robson on her death registration, who died 28 November 1928.

The Mausoleum is open for visiting May 1st to September 7th (every year). Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. [Address 190 1^st Street South West, Owen Sound]