Glover Mausoleum
Encyclopedia
The Glover Mausoleum, also known as the Glover Vault, is a Greek Revival
mausoleum
located within the Riverside Cemetery in Demopolis
, Marengo County, Alabama
. It houses the remains of local plantation owner, Allen Glover, his first and second wives, and many of their descendants.
bluff overlooking the Tombigbee River
, southwest of Demopolis. It was built by Mary Anne Glover, second wife of Allen Glover, on land purchased by him in 1831 and left to his minor daughter, Ann Gaines Glover. Allen Glover died in 1840 and was initially buried elsewhere. Records in the Probate Court of Marengo County show that expenditures on the vault began in January 1841. By the time that it was finished the executors of Allen Glover's estate had spent at least $2,136.75 on construction. The bodies of Allen Glover, his first wife, and a daughter were moved to the vaults after it was completed in 1845. A Gothic Revival cast iron
fence was later added around the vault in 1858. Ann Glover allowed other family members to be buried around the mausoleum in later years, and in 1882 she began to sell lots to the public. This led to the establishment of the site as Riverside Cemetery. The fence has experienced considerable vandalism in more recent years and has been largely removed. The mausoleum was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974.
. A porch surrounds the vaults on all four sides, with solid masonry corners and openings on each side supported by a span of three cast iron columns. The low-pitched masonry roof is topped by a granite orb and cross
.
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
located within the Riverside Cemetery in Demopolis
Demopolis, Alabama
Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, United States. The population was 7,483 at the time of the 2010 United States Census....
, Marengo County, Alabama
Marengo County, Alabama
Marengo County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of a battlefield near Turin, Italy, where the French defeated the Austrians on June 14, 1800. As of 2010 the population was 21,027...
. It houses the remains of local plantation owner, Allen Glover, his first and second wives, and many of their descendants.
History
The Greek Revival mausoleum was built between 1841 and 1845 on a chalkChalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
bluff overlooking the Tombigbee River
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...
, southwest of Demopolis. It was built by Mary Anne Glover, second wife of Allen Glover, on land purchased by him in 1831 and left to his minor daughter, Ann Gaines Glover. Allen Glover died in 1840 and was initially buried elsewhere. Records in the Probate Court of Marengo County show that expenditures on the vault began in January 1841. By the time that it was finished the executors of Allen Glover's estate had spent at least $2,136.75 on construction. The bodies of Allen Glover, his first wife, and a daughter were moved to the vaults after it was completed in 1845. A Gothic Revival cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
fence was later added around the vault in 1858. Ann Glover allowed other family members to be buried around the mausoleum in later years, and in 1882 she began to sell lots to the public. This led to the establishment of the site as Riverside Cemetery. The fence has experienced considerable vandalism in more recent years and has been largely removed. The mausoleum was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974.
Description
The mausoleum contains burial vaults for thirty people. There are fifteen vaults on the east and west sides, stacked five horizontally and three vertically. It is a square brick structure, plastered over with smooth stucco and scored to give the appearance of ashlarAshlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
. A porch surrounds the vaults on all four sides, with solid masonry corners and openings on each side supported by a span of three cast iron columns. The low-pitched masonry roof is topped by a granite orb and cross
Globus cruciger
The globus cruciger is an orb topped with a cross , a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia...
.