Grave Monuments

As I was arranging the haphazard folklore collections, I came across a very interesting collection. Pauline Montgomery donated her 1600 piece photo collection of Indiana grave monuments to the Folklore Department in 1983. This is a meticulously documented photograph collection of grave monuments across southern Indiana. The records she kept are quiet astounding. I know this collection will be something that genealogists will just love!

So as I was rehousing the photographs, I came across a most peculiar grave monument. It is a basic headstone, but just behind it is some sort of playhouse or dollhouse that stands as a monument to the deceased. I cannot make out the writing on the headstone so this could be for a child, but still an unusual sight to see in a graveyard. Ms. Montgomery even took a photograph of the inside of this house, which is fully furnished with curtains, tables, and dolls. Now, I'm no expert on grave monuments, but this is the first I've ever heard of constructing a fully furnished playhouse as a monument to the deceased. The interesting things you come across at the Archive!