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Cemeteries
An important part of the built environment frequently overlooked are the
numerous cemeteries found throughout Morgan County. In many cases,
cemeteries provide us with the only record of a person's or a family's
presence in time and place. The earliest markers were slabs of sand stone or
marble which bore inscriptions and occasionally bas-relief. These were
followed by classically inspired shafts, urns, and obelisks that
corresponded to the Greek Revival period in architecture. Gothic markers
using the pointed arch motif appeared, too. For a few decades in the late
nineteenth century, cast "white bronze" monuments were popular and
affordable alternatives to expensive stone monuments. Like the stamped metal
cornices common among Italianate buildings, the cast monuments provided many
rural areas with a sense of inexpensive opulence.
Martinsville's economic growth during the
late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century is reflected not only in the
town's collection of significant architecture but also in the town cemetery.
The Hilldale and Greenlawn/South Park Cemeteries contain elaborate
sculptures and mausolea reflecting the prosperity of the period
Hilldale Cemetery
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Thomas A. Sloan, died 1873 |
Archibald and Margaret Cramer, died 1886 and 1883, respectively. To
learn more about rustic tree stump tombstones, click
here. |
The tornado of September 2002 left Hilldale Cemetery in a tumbled mess. A
cemetery restoration professional could put all of the pieces back together
again.
Greenlawn/South Park Cemetery
Willard E. Parks (1855-1890) |
 Charles
and Margaret Hubbard family plot. |
Thomas Landrum was a veteran of the Civil War.
This cast iron fence came from the site of the old Morgan County Home,
which stood where the hospital is now. Other sections can be found elsewhere
around Martinsville.
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