Cemeteries Worth the Visit – Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois

1872 Map of Cemetery

Oak Ridge Cemetery is located in the Illinois capitol city of Springfield.  Founded in 1855, the name was suggested by Mayor John C.Cook because of the large standoff oaks on the original property. Several of those trees remain standing today.  The cemetery was dedicated on May 24, 1860.

 Oak Ridge was landscaped and designed in Classical Revival and Romanesque styles.  Primarily known for President Abraham Lincoln’s tomb, Oak Ridge is so much more.  The hilly land consists of bluffs and valleys, with 12 miles of paved roads that meander throughout over 300 acres.   Oak Ridge is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. 

Lincoln's Tomb

Rubbing Lincoln's Nose

Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th President of the United States, is the most famous person buried here.  Because of this, Oak Ridge is the second most visited cemetery in the U.S.  (Arlington National Cemetery is first.)  Lincoln’s 117-foot Tomb was designed by sculptor Larkin Mead.  It was built of brick covered with granite. Four bronze sculptures surround the tomb.  Each sculpture represents one of the four armed services in the Civil War; infantry, cavalry, navy and artillery.  At the entrance of the tomb is a bronze head of Abraham Lincoln.  The nose is shiny due to tourists rubbing it for good luck.

Lincoln's Funeral held at Receiving Vault

Tomb Rotunda

Once inside the tomb, a marble rotunda contains statues of Lincoln, along with plaques that contain excerpts from his most famous speeches.  There are two doorways in the rotunda – one to enter the tomb by, and the other to exit by.  In the tomb itself, a granite monument marks the gravesite.  Lincoln, his wife and sons are in crypts located in the south wall.  The receiving vault, where Lincoln’s body was held until the monument was built is located at the bottom of the hill, behind the monument.

 Vachel Lindsey's Stone
(Courtesy Connie Nisinger)

Nicholas Vachel Lindssey

Others buried in Oak Ridge include Illinois poet Nicholas Vachel Lindsey, considered the originator of poetry as performance art.  Lindsey was one of the best-known poets of the 1920’s and 1930’s in the U.S.  Lindsey apparently committed suicide by drinking a bottle of lye. He was well known for his poems ‘The Congo’ and ‘Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight.’

Shelby M. Cullom's Grave
(Courtesy of Connie Nisinger)

Governor Shelby M. Cullom

Many Illinois politicians, congressmen, senators and governors, including Governor Shelby Moore Cullom, known as ‘Mr. Republican.’  Cullom held almost every elective office including two terms in the Illinois House of Representatives three in the U.S. House of Representatives and five terms in the U.S. Senate.

Governor John Riley Tanner

Tanner's Mausoleum

The 21^st Governor of Illinois, John Riley Tanner, is also buried here, along with numerous Civil War generals.  Lincoln’s first law partner, John T. Stuart is also buried in Oak Ridge. 

Roy Bertelli's Controversial Grave

And, not to be missed is the controversial grave of Roy Bertelli, known as Mr. Accordion.

G.A.R. Memorial

There are several war monuments in Oak Ridge.  Memorials exist for the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), World War Two, the Korean War, and Illinois Vietnam Veterans.

If you go to Springfield, don’t miss Oak Ridge Cemetery.  A visit to Lincoln’s Tomb is a must, but don’t stop there.  Plan half a day and enjoy the beautiful rolling hills, amazing sculpture and pleasantly designed grounds.  Stop by the cemetery office, at the front gate, for a map.  You can also purchase a CD that will guide you on an audio tour of the cemetery and many of its fascinating stones. 

Oak Ridge Cemetery is located at 1441 Monument Avenue in Springfield.  You may contact them by phone at (217) 789-2340.  Or visit the cemetery's web sit at http://www.oakridgecemetery.org.

~ Joy

Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Vachel Lindsay

In Springfield, Illinois

IT is portentious, and a thing of state

That here at midnight, in our little town

A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,

Near the old court-house, pacing up and down.

Or by his homestead, or by shadowed yards

He lingers where his children used to play,

Or through the market, on the well-worn stones

He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.

A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,

A famous high top-hat, and plain worn shawl

Make him the quaint, great figure that men love,

The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.

He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.

He is among us:--as in times before!

And we who toss or lie awake for long

Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.

His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.

Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?

Too many peasants fight, they know not why,

Too many homesteads in black terror weep.

The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.

He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.

He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now

The bitterness, the folly and the pain.

 

He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn

Shall come:--the shining hope of Europe free:

The league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,

Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.

It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,

That all his hours of travail here for men

Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace

That he may sleep upon his hill again?

Jane Todd Crawford -The First Survivor of Ovarian Surgery

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, http://www.ovariancancer.org/ reports that each year in the United States, over 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  About 15,000 die from it!  Unfortunately morality rates for ovarian cancer have not improved in 30 years.  I was appalled when I discovered the actual current statistics about this disease. (They follow at the end of this blog.)  I began researching this disease because of a grave I found last January in Sullivan County, Indiana for the woman who was the first to survive ovarian surgery.

Jane Todd Crawford

It was 1809, when Jane Todd Crawford became concerned about a pregnancy that was long overdue. At the age of 46, and a mother of four, she knew something was wrong and that she needed to get medical attention. When doctors tried to induce labor it was discovered that she was ‘carrying’ a 22-pound cystic tumor.  The diagnosis was death. 

Dr Ephraim McDowell

Crawford refused to give up.  She contacted Dr. Ephraim McDowell of Danville, Kentucky, explaining her condition.  McDowell traveled to Green County, Kentucky and diagnosed Crawford as having a large ovarian tumor.  He was interested in performing an experimental abdominal surgery that might save her life. But he warned her that so far the surgery had never been performed successfully.  Knowing that her condition was fatal, Crawford agreed to allow Dr. McDowell to operate on her.

It was a harsh December day when she set out on horseback from south of Greensburg to ride to Danville, Kentucky, a journey of 60 miles.  McDowell had refused to do the surgery anywhere but at his home where he had all of his equipment.

The operation took place on Christmas Day, 1809 in McDowell’s living room.  The procedure took 25 minutes and was scheduled to take place during church services in order to keep gawkers away.  Crawford was given only an oral dose of opium before being cut open. (Anesthesia was not invented yet.) Several attendants held her down while the surgery took place.  McDowell removed a twenty-two pound tumor.  This was the first successful removal of an ovarian tumor in the world!

Crawford’s recovery was uneventful.  She was able to return home in January of 1810.  A few months later the Crawford’s’ sold their land in Kentucky and moved to Indiana. 

McDowell Statue

McDowell became famous as the pioneer of abdominal surgical techniques. He performed the same operation on two more women.  He published his report “Three Cases of Extirpation of Diseased Ovaria” in 1817.  He continued practicing medicine until his death from an apparent appendicitis on June 25, 1830.  His home in Danville is now a museum and a National Historic Landmark.  The Medical Society of Kentucky in Danville erected a statue in his honor in 1879.

Jane Todd Crawford's Grave

Original Grave Marker

Jane Crawford died in 1842, at the age of 79, at her son’s home in Graysville, Indiana.  She was buried in the Johnson Cemetery, near Graysville, Indiana in Sullivan County.  In 1871, the Women’s Auxiliary to the Southern Medical Association dedicated a stone for her grave.  In 1940, the American Hospital Association placed a granite monument near her grave.

Not only did Jane Todd Crawford make history as the first woman to survive ovarian surgery, she gave thousands of women hope concerning a disease that is slow, cruel, and still, difficult to survive.

~ Joy

Stats from the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance:

Ovarian cancer accounts for approximately 3 percent of cancers in women. While the ninth most common cancer among women, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women, and is the deadliest of gynecologic cancers. Mortality rates are slightly higher for Caucasian women than for minority women.

A Woman’s Lifetime Risk:  A woman’s lifetime risk of developing invasive ovarian cancer is 1 in 71. 
A woman’s lifetime risk of dying from invasive ovarian cancer is 1 in 95.

Age:  Ovarian cancer primarily develops in women over 45. From 2002 to 2006, the median age at diagnosis was 63.

Ovarian cancer survival rates are much lower than other cancers that affect women.

Overall, the ten-year relative survival rate for ovarian cancer patients is 39%.

 The relative five-year survival rate is 46 percent. Survival rates vary depending on the

stage of diagnosis.

Women diagnosed at an early stage have a much higher five-year survival rate than those

diagnosed at a later stage.

Fewer than 20 percent of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed early.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975 experienced a five-year survival rate of 75.3

percent; today, the American Cancer Society estimates the rate to be 89 percent.

Women diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1975 experienced a five-year survival rate of 69

percent; today, the American Cancer Society estimates the rate to be 71 percent.

Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1975 experienced a five-year survival

rate of 34.8 percent; today, the American Cancer Society estimates the rate to

be 46 percent

Mausoleums, Crypts, and Tombs (Oh My!)

Mausoleum

Mausoleums, crypt and tombs.   So what is the difference between the three? A mausoleum is an independent aboveground structure built to hold the remains of a person or persons. 

Crypt

A crypt is a burial spot, built to hold a casket in a concrete or stone chamber.

Tomb

And a tomb is a container which holds the deceased’s remains.

Each one offers us a different manner in which to bury and memorialize our dead.  Today we’ll take a look at all three options.

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Mausoleums came about when Queen Artemisia II of Caria, in Asia Minor, had a special structure built to house the remains of her husband and brother, King Mausolus, when he died in 353 B.C.  This is where the word derived.  The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, near Bodrun, Turkey, is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Pyramid Type Mausoleum

Mausoleums were originally built to be impressive  and elaborate structures, housing the remains of the important - nobility and leaders. After the 10^th century, Christians didn’t support the practice of burying the dead in such complicated structures, so mausoleums fell out of favor.  The Europeans constructed somewhat smaller mausoleums, with an interior chapel and area for visitors, making them more accessible to the gentry.  Mausoleums can be located on private grounds, in churchyards or in public cemeteries in Europe.  

Family Mausoleum

In the United States, family mausoleums became popular in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. New Orleans is known for their above ground burials and mausoleums.  Over 90% of all burials in that city are aboveground due to their location and the cemeteries are known as “Cities of the Dead.”

Inside a 6 Tier Mausoleum

Broken Mausoleum Window

Types of mausoleums include the vestibule, the sarcophagus, and those large, public mausoleums that are cemetery owned.  A vestibule mausoleum is a small structure, resembling a house or small ornate building with a door in the middle.  Upon entering, crypts may be stacked up to three high on each side.  Flowers and mementos may be placed inside the mausoleum.  A small window, usually crafted from stained glass, is usually located opposite the door on the back wall.

Saracophagus

Interior View

A sarcophagus mausoleum is partially above ground but has no windows or doors.  The roof is lifted off and the casket is placed inside before it is sealed.  A sarcophagus can be a single width, double width, or have room for coffins to be stacked up to eight high. The main part of the sarcophagus is above ground, but only one burial is visible above ground.  The rest are in a large concrete structure below ground.

Public Mausoleum

A cemetery owned mausoleum may have an interior area available for visiting or it may consist of crypts stacked together with only outdoor access.  Seating, lighting and a place for flowers is usually provided.

Classical Style

Modern Style

Mausoleum architecture varies from the very ornate to the simple structure.  Many times you’ll find mausoleums built in the  Classical style, Gothic, Egyptian or Modern styles.

Taj Mahal

Lincoln's Tomb

Famous mausoleums include the Taj Mahal in India, the mausoleum for the Duchess of Kent in England, Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield, Illinois, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C.

Floor Crypt

Wall Crypts

A crypt is built to hold a casket in a concrete or stone chamber.  Many times it is placed beneath the floor, or in the wall, of a church, chapel or cathedral.  Crypts were originally located beneath churches as early as 600 A.D.  One of the most famous crypts is Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.    The concrete or stone chambers in a mausoleum, where the caskets are placed and sealed, are called wall crypts

Lawn Crypt

A lawn crypt, also known as an underground mausoleum, consists of pre-installed vaults that allow for single or double depth (stacked) burial in a cemetery lawn space.  A lawn crypt may be made up of several double depth vaults laid horizontally to allow for family members to be buried together.

Tomb of the Unknown

Tomb of James Whitcomb Riley

A tomb is basically a container for the deceased’s remains.  It can be any size of enclosed compartment….an urn, a burial vault, a crypt or a mausoleum, and as simple or elaborate as desired. In modern day it is usually a burial vault that is typically lined with stone or brick.  The ceiling is usually vaulted, hence the name.

Glowing Stain Glass Window

Now, with all of this in mind – Would you prefer to be interred in the ground, in a tomb or crypt? Or entombed above ground in a mausoleum?

Sunlit Mausoleum

My preference?  I’d choose entombment in a mausoleum.  There’s just something comforting about knowing I’d still be close to the elements, and the seasons, that holds an appeal for me.

What would your choice be?

~ Joy