Pewee Valley Confederate Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Pewee Valley Confederate Cemetery is the site of the old Kentucky Confederate Home. The cemetery is not only on the National Register of Historic Places
, but an individual monument within it, the Confederate Memorial in Pewee Valley, is separately on it as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. It is the only cemetery for Confederate veterans, 313 in total, that is an official state burying ground in Kentucky.
, twenty miles (32 km) northeast of Louisville, Kentucky
, decided they wanted a local public cemetery. By August 1871 the land was purchased. The following spring, in 1872, the cemetery was organized and plants were placed to beautify the area. When they were finished, they asked for a charter from the Kentucky state government.
Close to the cemetery, the Villa Ridge Inn was built in 1889. The site was a four-story summer resort was to be popular with Louisville entrepreneurs and their families. However, despite being a $90,000 construction with "majestic architecture", it never attracted enough visitors to stay in business. Between the Inn's closure and 1902, it had temporarily become a private high school, the successor to the Kentucky College for Young Ladies.
When the approval for the Confederate home was gained in 1904, the cemetery was divided into three parts; one for Confederate veterans, one for whites, and one for blacks.
In 1902 the Kentucky state assembly unanimously approved the building of a veterans home
specifically for Confederate veterans of the American Civil War
by the cemetery. It was done at the behest of former Confederate officer Bennett H. Young
, who had long desired such a facility as he saw many former Confederate veterans were no longer able to take care of themselves. After Young's group acquired $16,000, the legislation was approved. Young's group of Confederate veterans and the Daughters of the Confederacy chose the Villa Ridge site just outside the cemetery, as it was well-sited and very inexpensive compared to what it had cost to build in 1889. The cemetery was established shortly after the hospital was opened, with the special monument built soon afterwards. The total area of the home and cemetery was 11,275 square feet.
In the years it was an active veterans facility, it provided a hospital, nursing care, food, entertainment, and religious services for up to 350 veterans at a time, providing a home for 700 former Confederate soldiers in its years of operations. The requirements to be a resident of the home was to not only be a former Confederate soldier, but to have been a resident of Kentucky for the past six months, be mentally stable, and to have no problems with alcoholism. Many of the veterans once served under John Hunt Morgan
. A fire on March 25, 1920 destroyed the main building, as well as an infirmary ward and laundry. Fortunately, no lives were lost, and the rest of the facility was enough to house those residents still using the home. Eventually, the number of veterans who could be served dwindled, and by 1934 the hospital was no more, with the remaining five residents being transferred to the nearby Pewee Valley Sanitorium.
The monument is unique for Kentucky Civil War monuments in that it is built of zinc
, whereas most are made of marble
or limestone
. Another oddity is that the obelisk and base are separated by an inscripted Gothic altar that acts as an arch on the face of the monument. Confederate flags are also crafted upon the monument.
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...
, but an individual monument within it, the Confederate Memorial in Pewee Valley, is separately on it as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky MPS. It is the only cemetery for Confederate veterans, 313 in total, that is an official state burying ground in Kentucky.
History
In May 1871, several local citizens of Pewee Valley, KentuckyPewee Valley, Kentucky
Pewee Valley is a city in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,436 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Pewee Valley is located at ....
, twenty miles (32 km) northeast of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, decided they wanted a local public cemetery. By August 1871 the land was purchased. The following spring, in 1872, the cemetery was organized and plants were placed to beautify the area. When they were finished, they asked for a charter from the Kentucky state government.
Close to the cemetery, the Villa Ridge Inn was built in 1889. The site was a four-story summer resort was to be popular with Louisville entrepreneurs and their families. However, despite being a $90,000 construction with "majestic architecture", it never attracted enough visitors to stay in business. Between the Inn's closure and 1902, it had temporarily become a private high school, the successor to the Kentucky College for Young Ladies.
When the approval for the Confederate home was gained in 1904, the cemetery was divided into three parts; one for Confederate veterans, one for whites, and one for blacks.
In 1902 the Kentucky state assembly unanimously approved the building of a veterans home
Old soldiers' home
An old soldiers' home is a military veteran's retirement home, nursing home, or hospital, or sometimes even an institution for the care of the widows and orphans of a nation's soldiers, sailors, and marines, etc.-United States:...
specifically for Confederate veterans of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
by the cemetery. It was done at the behest of former Confederate officer Bennett H. Young
Bennett H. Young
Bennett H. Young was a Confederate officer who led forces in the St Albans raid , a military action during the American Civil War. As a lieutenant of the Confederate States Army, he entered Vermont from Canada and occupied the town of St...
, who had long desired such a facility as he saw many former Confederate veterans were no longer able to take care of themselves. After Young's group acquired $16,000, the legislation was approved. Young's group of Confederate veterans and the Daughters of the Confederacy chose the Villa Ridge site just outside the cemetery, as it was well-sited and very inexpensive compared to what it had cost to build in 1889. The cemetery was established shortly after the hospital was opened, with the special monument built soon afterwards. The total area of the home and cemetery was 11,275 square feet.
In the years it was an active veterans facility, it provided a hospital, nursing care, food, entertainment, and religious services for up to 350 veterans at a time, providing a home for 700 former Confederate soldiers in its years of operations. The requirements to be a resident of the home was to not only be a former Confederate soldier, but to have been a resident of Kentucky for the past six months, be mentally stable, and to have no problems with alcoholism. Many of the veterans once served under John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
. A fire on March 25, 1920 destroyed the main building, as well as an infirmary ward and laundry. Fortunately, no lives were lost, and the rest of the facility was enough to house those residents still using the home. Eventually, the number of veterans who could be served dwindled, and by 1934 the hospital was no more, with the remaining five residents being transferred to the nearby Pewee Valley Sanitorium.
Present day
All that remains of the hospital is its main gate, which was moved to become the entrance arch for the cemetery, and part of the walkway from the house to the railroad. A sign is placed along the pathway to mark it. The source of fresh water for the facility, a reservoir, was filled in during the 1990s.The monument is unique for Kentucky Civil War monuments in that it is built of zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, whereas most are made of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
or limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. Another oddity is that the obelisk and base are separated by an inscripted Gothic altar that acts as an arch on the face of the monument. Confederate flags are also crafted upon the monument.