Mattie Rayburn Monument - Oak Ridge Cemetery - Springfield, Illinois
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 49.570 W 089° 39.428
16S E 272599 N 4411841
Cemetery monument in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
Waymark Code: WM8Z91
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/03/2010
Views: 5
"Mattie Rayburn Monument. After the Lincoln Tomb, this is the tallest monument in Oak Ridge Cemetery, and one of the most imposing. The Rayburn monument was erected in the 1890s in honor of Hanna "Mattie" Rayburn, mistress and later wife of W.H. Rayburn, a divorced and deposed Methodist minister and advocate of the "doctrine of 'free love.'" The monument is reported to have been paid for with funds raised by friends of the Rayburns despite the fact that they were shunned in polite society. A triple base of smooth, unpolished granite is carved with the name Rayburn. Above rises a shaft of smooth, polished red granite, topped with a swelling cap and polished sphere. The surface is decorated with banding and insets of lighter colored stone. Atop the 40 foot monument is a white marble statue of Mrs. Rayburn facing east. An inscription on the base reads "What Therefore God has joined together let not Man put Asunder." - Historic District Nomination form
Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Oak Ridge Cemetery
Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]
NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link]
Address:
1441 Monument Avenue
Springfield, Illinois
How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below)
Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]
|