October 2015
The Hollenback Cemetery Association was formed in 1855 with 15 acres gifted by Colonel George M. Hollenback.
Although this is the cemetery for the “upper crust” it resides in a neighborhood that is primarily surrounded with old miners homes.
In 1887 John Welles Hollenback gave an additional five acres as a gift to the association.
There are still plots available in this cemetery.
The reason for my visit is to witness, what is possibly the only historic place where an architect has designed a plot once every decade, and more importantly, that architect is Bruce Price renown architect of Wilkes-Barre.
If you have been reading along you have seen quite a few of his buildings.
Bruce Price was born in Maryland, and for a while, studied at Princeton. It is said that his stark style was a large influence on both Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Venturi. His style included Beaux-Arts, Romanesque and what ever was needed for New York skyscrapers of his time.
In 1871, Price married Josephine Lee, the daughter of a Wilkes-Barre coal baron. They had two children, a son William, who died in infancy and a daughter who grew up to be Emily Post of etiquette fame.
The first of the graves designed by Price was for George Washington Woodward (1809 -1875), a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. The monument is meant to represent a Greek funeral pyre. It is made “Christian” by a very large cross on the top, that at this point, only one flying over or possibly god, could see. However, if you are so inclined it is possible to view on GoogleEarth.
The stars are there to represent an immortal, representing, of course, immortality. The “battered” lines are an abstract representation of the personality of the subject, George W. Woodward, and apparently comes from Egyptian lore. Hanging from the jutting stone at the top were originally bronze wreaths, meant to represent fresh wreaths placed onto the funeral pyre.
*
This grave stone is for Price’s father-in-law Washington Lee. (1821-1883) This being the second decade the Price placed a monument in this cemetery.
*
The Pergola like structure is where Price and his wife Josephine Lee are buried, he designed this monument. His son William’s grave is the small one at the front on the left.
With the exception of this stunning sculpture, the grave stones within the cemetery are all rather simple. Neither the deceased, nor the sculptor, are known for this particular piece.
Notice the exquisite placement of the mourners hat.
