A Rabbit's Tale: Cemetery Spotlight 5/31/12

A Rabbit's Tale- Cemetery Spotlight:

Lexington Cemetery - Lexington, Kentucky

By Joy Neighbors

Located just west of downtown Lexington, Kentucky is the second largest cemetery in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Once you pass through the stone gateway of the Lexington Cemetery, the sounds of the city recede and a natural peace and tranquility take over. 

The cemetery grounds are rolling and lush with native trees, flowers and plants.  Designated as an arboretum, the Lexington Cemetery is home to over 200 species of trees.  Self-guided tree walks can be taken with the assistance of maps available at the cemetery office.  This is a cemetery that changes dramatically with each passing season and offers something new every month.

The History:

The cholera epidemic was the driving force that spurred the city fathers to create a cemetery away from where the main population of Lexington lived.  Incorporated in 1848, the first burial plot was sold in August 1849 for the interment of Lexington businessman, Robert S. Boyd who had died of cholera.   Boyd had been buried in the Episcopal Cemetery but was moved to Lexington on October 2, 1849, and laid to rest there, along with his infant son. 

Bids for the construction of a central cemetery entrance gateway and main buildings were gathered in 1849.  When construction was completed, almost $3,000 had been spent for the three arched stone and iron gateways, and the office and reception room which flank the west side of the main entrance.  The inscription above the main gate read, “Lexington Cemetery, Founded A.D. 1849.”  Over the west gate, “City of the Dead” was carved.

The mid-nineteenth century was the era of Rural and Garden cemeteries. A Rural cemetery was not just a location in the country to bury your dead; it was an attraction, a landscaped vista that appealed to those Victorian traits of nostalgia, melancholy and romantic sensibility. Architect Julius Adams designed this cemetery in the magnificent Gothic Romanesque style, with natural wooded areas and several lakes, all in keeping with the park-like ‘Rural’ setting.

Notables Buried Here:

There are numerous notables buried in Lexington Cemetery including politicians, businessmen, authors, historical and sports figures.

Henry Clay, known as “The Great Compromiser,” is interred here.  Clay served as a lawyer, U.S. Congressman, Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State.  He ran for President three times but was unsuccessful in his bids. When he died on June 29, 1852 in Washington, D.C., train, barge and carriage carried his body over 1,200 miles back to Lexington.  His friends and fellow politicians worked diligently for the next five years, raising almost $44,000 to purchase what they felt was a suitable monument for him. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1857 and the monument was completed in 1861.  However, Clay’s body was not moved to the new monument because of the start of the Civil War.  It was three years later, in 1864, when both his and his wife’s bodies were finally interred there.  The Clay monument is the only marker in the cemetery’s Section M.

Another well-known Lexington resident buried here is John Hunt Morgan, Confederate General of the Civil War.  Morgan is best remembered for leading Morgan’s Raid, conducting his troops over 1,000 miles, on horseback, from Tennessee, through Kentucky, into Indiana, and over into southern Ohio.  This was the farthest point north any uniformed Confederate troops ever reached during the war.  Captured and held in a federal prison in Ohio, Morgan managed to escape by tunneling out. He was shot and killed September 4, 1864 during a raid in Tennessee and his body was sent back to Lexington for burial.

Lexington Cemetery is the site of two military monuments and a National Cemetery.  The Confederate Soldier Monument was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky program.  The monument depicts a Confederate soldier looking off into the distance with a studied, mournful expression. The names of the Confederate dead are inscribed on the base of the marker.

Just behind the Confederate Soldier Monument, you will find the Ladies Confederate Memorial, also placed on the National register of Historic Places in 1997.  Erected in 1874, this memorial extracts a powerful force and seems to sum up the heartache and sorrow felt for all of those who died for the Confederacy during the war.  Designed by George W. Ranck, of Lexington, the memorial is made up of a draped marble cross, surrounded by a broken battle sword, a broken flagstaff, and lilies - a Victorian symbol of restored innocence at death.  The Ladies Confederate Memorial was said to be inspired by this poem written by Confederate Chaplin, Father Abram Joseph Ryan:

The Conquered Banner

Furl that banner, softly, slowly!

Treat it gently – it is holy –

For it droops above the dead.

Touch it not – unfold it never.

Let it droop there, furled forever,

For its people’s hope are dead!

                                ~ Abram Joseph Ryan

The National Cemetery’s interment books indicate that between October 4, 1861 and July 26, 1865, there were 828 U.S. white volunteers, 40 U.S. colored Volunteers, and 97 disloyals buried here.  Another 965 Union dead were also interred in the Union section of the cemetery. After the war, the U.S. government purchased an adjoining 16,111 feet in the Union cemetery and had the area designated as a national cemetery.  The Southern section was released to the Confederate Veterans Association in 1891.  The CVA purchased another 510 square feet of land in 1892.  Two more lots were purchased bringing the total of the Southern section to 853 square feet.  All sections in the National Cemetery are now filled and no new burials are allowed here.

One man buried in the Lexington Cemetery is also remembered for his courage and commitment, not in battle, but to local residents in need. William “King” Solomon showed his mettle during the cholera outbreak.  In 1833, over 500 residents died during an eight-week period when the epidemic spread through Lexington.  While the majority of the city fled, Solomon, an indentured servant whose owner had released him so that he could escape the epidemic, stayed of his own accord and dug graves for the cholera victims.  He spent over two months, working during the day and sleeping in the cemetery at night in order to get the deceased buried. It is said that the following autumn, Solomon was sitting in the back of a courtroom, awaiting the proceedings, when the presiding judge saw him, stepped down from the bench and approached him.  The judge then reached out and shook Solomon’s hand, thanking him for his service to the city during the epidemic.  No sooner had the judge turned, than the entire room lined up to express their appreciation as well; Solomon had been recognized by his fellow citizens for his valor in the face of death.  “King” Solomon is still remembered today, as this rose that was left on his gravestone shows.

Cemetery Information:

The Lexington Cemetery offers assistance with genealogical research.  Their web page has a section for researchers at http://www.lexcem.org/index.cfm/genealogy.html.   It tells how to request help and how to schedule an appointment.  Anyone with information to be added to the cemetery’s genealogical files should contact them.

The cemetery is open everyday from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M.  It is located at 833 West Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky 40508.  Their phone number is (859) 255-5522.  For more information, visit their web site at http://www.lexcem.org/ or visit their FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lexington-Cemetery/23514189569. Or contact them at info@lexcem.org

History abounds at the Lexington Cemetery! Be sure to get a map from the cemetery office when you enter, and take the opportunity to search for the hidden cemetery jewels that are scattered throughout. Whether you’re searching for interesting stones, architectural gems, amazing sculpture or a serene setting, Lexington Cemetery offers you an opportunity to explore the charm and culture of times past.

~ Joy Neighbors

Writer/Blogger

A Grave Interest

http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/