Cave Hill Cemetery Louisville, KY

Part of my research for road trips, once I pick an area or city to travel, is to look up cemeteries to see if there are any famous/notable burials in the area. The first road trip I used this on was years ago when during a trip to Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore Maryland where I stopped to see the graves of John Wilkes Booth and Elijah Jefferson Bond, the man who patented the Ouija board.

In Paducah Kentucky I stopped at Oak Grove Cemetery and spent hours looking at the different tombstones. Oak Grove Cemetery

In April Meg and I spent hours at Elmwood and Pinewood cemeteries in Charlotte, NC admiring the many different styles of head stones. Elmwood and Pinewood

Now in Louisville I had found Cave Hill Cemetery. Originally the property was part of William Johnston's Cave Hill farm, and it kept the name despite different uses. In the 1830s there were plans for a railroad to go through the property but those fell through and residents continued leasing land to farm. 

In 1846 Mayor Fredrick Kaye appointed civil engineer Edmund Francis Lee to design a cemetery for the property. Lee had experience with the garden style cemetery that had gained popularity in Europe and saw the natural landscape of the hills as a perfect fit for that style. 

After a night of ghost hunting and a brief one hour nap Meg and I drove in the Grinstead Drive entrance of the cemetery. I had a list of graves I wanted to try and find for various reasons and Meghan had the cemetery map which listed other notable graves of figures famous in Louisville or Kentucky. Meghan used the map to plot a path that would help us cover as much of the cemetery as possible, keeping in mind the areas where we wanted to see particular graves. 

Now in Kentucky I had been enthralled with the many tombstones to wood workers and in Charlotte I had found many scroll designs. In Louisville we saw many tombstones which made use of stained glass in the center to mark a beautiful reminder of the lives lived. 

The idyllic garden style of this cemetery with light catching the stained glass was beautiful. While I have seen beautiful work done with stone cutting the designs in the glass seemed to have endless possibilities for expression. There is such beauty in seeing the personal works of art for lost loved ones. Top right is a beautiful Celtic Cross that at the right angle of light would illuminate the plot and those around it. I took pictures of these and first noticed them for the stained glass but even in these there is more details about the people they represent. I don't know much about Scott A Thompson (top left) however at his name on the base are two crossed hockey sticks maybe he played or maybe he was just a huge fan of the game.

Dr. Robert Greenberg has a glass Star of David on his grave, a poem he has written, and then at the very bottom are two dinosaurs named Tex Rex and Broncilla. Through research I have learned that he wrote a series of children's books about Tyrannosaurus Tex, a young T-Rex from Texas. Dr. Greenberg was originally from Brooklyn and spent a lifetime concerned about mental health both as staff at hospitals and as a professor at a number of institutions. He also served in the army medical corps during the Vietnam War and reached the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserve Medical Corps and further received the Legion of Merit for activation during the Persian Gulf War.

The last picture I have at the bottom right is a young man named Ross Ruffra who was only 16 when he was killed in an automobile accident. In honor of his accomplishment and drive in his young life a scholarship has been set up by his parents so that other students from his school of South Oldham High School who show the same drive and love for academics, sports, and other activities can defray some of the cost of college.

It wasn't just the tombstones that had beautiful stained glass designs. The Mausoleums also had intricate designs inside. I found two with depictions of Leonardo DiVinci's Last Supper.

The most famous memorial that we found early on was Muhammad Ali's grave site. It was easy to find because the cemetery, in a great move that definitely encourages visitors, painted lines on the paths to connect the two main entrances and to help point to Ali. That and the nicely spaced boxes with maps certainly made this a great cemetery to travel around.

Ali's memorial featured a beautiful stone path leading up to a well cared for flower garden. His words on the black granite monument prove a fitting tribute to a man who transcended a sport and made himself into a leader and hero to many.


One of the important historical figure we found buried in Cave Hill was General George Rogers Clark. He was a Revolutionary War hero and founder of the outpost that would later become Louisville.

We also stopped by Major William Croghan, brother in law of George Rogers Clark, grave. He was an Irish immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1768 around the age of sixteen. He too served during the Revolutionary War and was present at the crossing of the Delaware as well as several battles: Princeton, Brandywine, Trenton, Germantown, and Monmouth. And if that wasn't enough he was also present at the surrender by Cornwallis at Yorktown.

One of the most interesting and beautifully planned family plots we found was the monument for the family of Edwin V Thompson. At the center of the plot is a stone tree and around it for the other family members are logs with the name and birth and death dates.

There were many unique graves throughout the cemetery that were easy to see from the driving paths.

This monument to Dr. Thomas Willett Hagan has hands reaching from the top of the stone in various positions. Since my visit I have learned that he had a private practice for plastic and reconstructive surgery and had at one time served as the Chief Surgical Resident for the University of Louisville Hospital. And he was also a Commander in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War where he served as a flight surgeon.

Early on in our travel through Cave Hill Cemetery we found this idyllic scene of two birds resting on top of an indented area of the stone with a small dam beside them. A tree stands beside it offering a safe landing and nesting spot for real birds. The name on the stone is Billips and the plaque beside it gives a little more info: Charles E Billips was a Captain in the U.S. Marine corps and lived form 1934-2000. I can't find any more information on him but judging by his resting spot he loved birds.

I took this picture of  the Dillon family plots after seeing several graves with ivy growing over it acting as a year round grave blanket protecting their resting places.

Another grave that caught our attention from afar was the grave of Miguel and Hildegard Lagunas. Miguel, still alive, is originally from Mexico City and came to the United States as a teenager to study engineering. His student visa eventually allowed him to apply for a Green Card and he then became a US citizen. At some point he served in the US military for three years.  After retiring from  Louisville Gas and Electric he now spends most of his time helping the community and Louisville in general. In March of 2008 he was awarded the Mayor's International Award for his contributions to Louisville's multicultural community. I am guessing that the single cross on the left is for Hildegaard, also an immigrant from Costa Rico. She passed away November 16th, 2001. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any more info about her.

As we traveled around the cemetery we saw lots of other people out walking around, reading, and enjoying the peace. The garden cemetery creates a welcoming space for people to come relax and remember those who have passed. I would think that it became popular partly because it removed some fear of death. It makes death seem more peaceful as you can walk around lakes and amazing trees in a way that connects one to nature. For example we found this amazing Ginko along one of the paths.

We had been in the cemetery for a couple of hours and Meg was waiting at the car for me to come back from walking around one of the sections looking for a particular grave when out of the corner of my eye I saw something move.

A beautiful deer was walking among the headstones enjoying the peaceful quiet. I was stunned. He watched me for a moment before he continued on his walk-a-bout.  We also saw a lot of birds enjoying the protection of the varied trees or swimming around the lake.

There are a lot of baseball players buried in Cave Hill so I picked one to look for the grave of and that was Pete Browning, owner of the first Louisville Slugger. he played in several different baseball leagues during his career. In 1887 while playing in the AA (American Association League) his finished with his highest career batting average .402. After that he went to the Player's League and lead that league in batting but it closed after only a year. He spent the remaining five years of his career playing for several teams in the National League.  His career totals are:

Games Played 1,183

Hits 1,646

Runs 954

Home Runs 46

RBIs 659

Batting Average .341

His career batting average places him in the top twenty all time for batting average.

Of course we stopped by the Colonel's grave stone. Harland Sander's rise to Fried Chicken King took a lifetime and is a true story of American enterprise. His father passed away when he was only six years old and he began helping his mother with his younger siblings. One of the ways he helped out was to cook meals for the family. He then began working at ten doing a variety of jobs until thirty years later when he was working at a service station and selling chicken to people who stopped at the station. Well more and more people began coming just for his chicken and his 'secret' recipe. Eventually he moved his food service business across the street to an old motel.  By 1935 he was officially made a Kentucky Colonel by the governor. In the 1950s a new interstate was being built that would divert a lot of the traffic away from his location and so he sold the building and at 62 found himself having to start over. He tapped into one of his past jobs as a salesman and hit the road. He believed in his recipe and the value of his chicken and he was determined to start a franchise. His recipe and determination paid off and today there are over 18,000 KFC restaurants in over 118 countries.

I'm not sure why people throuw change on his grave.




The next grave we saw from a distance and as soon as I saw it I said "that has to be the grave of an magician" and it was; Harry Leon Collins. Harry was born and raised in Kentucky and had become interested in magic as a teenager. After graduating from high school he joined the Marines and served in WWII. His father had passed away in his mid teens and he helped support his mother and younger siblings including sending his entire paycheck home when he was at war. As a result he helped put his younger siblings through college. After being injured in Saipan he got the attention of Bob Crosby and performed in Crosby's variety show called "This is the Army Show." He returned home after WWII and became a salesman for Frito-Lay by day and Mr. Magic by night.

Next up was a hard one to find. Big James Porter's grave is nestled into the side of one of the hills. James is a folk hero known for his height, which made it onto his headstone at 7 foot 8 inches. He is also called Big Jim and the Kentucky Giant. As the legend goes Jim was a very small and sickly child he began working as a jockey when he was 14. Then at 17 he began to grow and by the time he was 20 he stood at his full height of 7"8'. He worked as a coach driver and when Charles Dickens came to visit Louisville he wrote that:

"When he had shown himself and talked awhile, he withdrew his pocket instrument and went bobbing down the cabin, among men of six feet tall and upwards, like a lighthouse walking along lamp-post."

He died peacefully in his sleep probably due to heart problems caused by his size.

Another interesting grave was the grave of D. H. Davies (David Henry.) I don't know anything about him beyond his name, birth, and death date.

I assume he was a sailor or boatsman of some kind maybe on the Ohio river because of the anchor on the grave monument but it could just be symbolic of who he was. On the back is a cross so he was religious. It also has a plaque that states his life was the "illustration of goodness and purity."

Some of the most beautiful monuments and the saddest are those for children or infants. One of the graves that I went knowing about was that of three year old Samantha McDonald. Samantha, Sami, passed away tragically in a home pool accident. In memory of a beautiful and vibrant life gone too early her parents had this monument built showing her on a swing held by Jesus. I know they also have a charity called Sami's Rocks for parents and families who have experienced similar sudden loss.

Some other example of infant/child graves showing lambs or a sleeping child.

Another stunning monument I found was to two brothers: John and Dodie McMillan. John passed away at two years old when his older brother, Dodi, was six years old. Dodi also died young, years later at only 21. Above their graves is this testament to two brothers who are now reunited. 

As I said at the beginning for some of these graves I was looking for them others just caught my interest and I would go home and research the people. One grave that caught my attention was Patti Hall Eittel.

It was the poem written by her husband and note at the bottom from her children that got my attention. I saw that she was young, only 43, and the stone said 'torn from us'. At the time I assumed she was sick or had been killed in a car accident. But that was not the case. She was shot by a disgruntled employee leaving work one day. The shooter pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. She was found guilty and sentenced to life with parole in 25 years. That means four years from now she will be eligible for parole.  For me this is one grave that is going to stay with me. Every death leaves some one behind some friend or family who will always remember the name on the stone as a living person with a particular laugh, or smile, or favorite food, or favorite movie, or with hobbies and talents. For me this was the first one I have researched that was a murder. Reading the trial statements and article summaries really affected me. 

In contrast to the trees, curving rows, and varied headstones of the garden cemetery also in Cave Hill is a section of a National Cemetery. The uniform headstones in straight lines are, to me,  striking and overwhelming. The National Cemetery began in 1861 when Union Soldiers who died in camps and hospitals around Louisville where buried in one of the lots at Cave Hill.

Along the road of the National cemetery were plaques with the different lines from Theodore O'Hara's Bivouac of The Dead. Theodore originally penned this in honor of Kentucky troops killed in the Mexican War. Since then it has been used by many and is at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Meg found a recording of the song set to music by Char Seawell. Her is her version as well as the full poem below.

The muffled drum's sad roll has beat

The soldier's last tattoo;

No more on Life's parade shall meet

That brave and fallen few.

On fame's eternal camping ground

Their silent tents to spread,

And glory guards, with solemn round

The bivouac of the dead.

No rumor of the foe's advance

Now swells upon the wind;

Nor troubled thought at midnight haunts

Of loved ones left behind;

No vision of the morrow's strife

The warrior's dreams alarms;

No braying horn or screaming fife

At dawn shall call to arms.

Their shriveled swords are red with rust,

Their plumed heads are bowed,

Their haughty banner, trailed in dust,

Is now their martial shroud.

And plenteous funeral tears have washed

The red stains from each brow, 

And the proud forms, by battle gashed

Are free from anguish now.

The neighing troop, the flashing blade,

The bugle's stirring blast,

The charge, the dreadful cannonade,

The din and shout, are past;

Nor war's wild note, nor glory's peal

Shall thrill with fierce delight

Those breasts that nevermore may feel

The rapture of the fight.

Like the fierce Northern hurricane

That sweeps the great plateau,

Flushed with triumph, yet to gain,

Come down the serried foe,

Who heard the thunder of the fray

Break o'er the field beneath,

Knew the watchworld of the day

Was "Victory or death!"

Long had the doubtful conflict raged

O'er all that stricken plain,

For never fiercer fight had waged

The vengeful blood of Spain;

And still the storm of battle blew,

Still swelled the glory tide;

Not long, our stout old Chieftain knew,

Such odds his strength could bide.

Twas in that hour his stern command

Called to a martyr's grave

The flower of his beloved land,

The nation's flag to save.

By rivers of their father's gore

His first-born laurels grew,

And well he deemed the sons would pour

Their lives for glory too.

For many a mother's breath has swept

O'er Angostura's plain --

And long the pitying sky has wept

Above its moldered slain.

The raven's scream, or eagle's flight,

Or shepherd's pensive lay,

Alone awakes each sullen height 

That frowned o'er that dread fray.

Sons of the Dark and Bloody Ground

Ye must not slumber there,

Where stranger steps and tongues resound

Along the heedless air.

Your own proud land's heroic soil

Shall be your fitter grave;

She claims from war his richest spoil --

The ashes of her brave.

Thus 'neath their parent turf they rest,

Far from the glory field,

Borne to a Spartan mother's breast

On many a bloody shield;

The sunshine of their native sky

Smiles sadly on them here,

And kindred eyes and hearts watch by

The heroes sepulcher.

Rest on embalmed and sainted dead!

Dear as the blood ye gave; 

No impious footstep here shall tread

The herbage of your grave;

Nor shall your glory be forgot

While Fame her record keeps, 

For honor points the hallowed spot

Where valor proudly sleeps.

Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone

In deathless song shall tell,

When many a vanquished ago has flown, 

The story how ye fell;

Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight,

Nor time's remorseless doom,

Can dim one ray of glory's light

That gilds your deathless tomb.

Another monument in the National Cemetery is a common one across the south and middle of the country. A monument to unknown soldiers, in this case Union, killed in nearby Civil War battles.

The Civil War has always been a time period that interested me. I remember studying it and reading about different battles in grade school. The Civil War has left scars across the country. It is a terrible thing when the citizens of one Nation have to turn to War against each other- neighbor against neighbor. Some estimates say 620,000 soldiers others are as high as 800,000 soldiers lost their lives in the battles that stretch from Pennsylvania to Florida and west to New Mexico. These monuments and cemeteries and battle sites hopefully serve as a reminder that we should never allow our country to become so divided that war against each other happens. Remove that idea from thoughts and minds. I think the list of those killed- and the unknown number of survivors who were never whole again should prove that this should never happen again.

In 1867 the remains of 11 soldiers who had been buried at a nearby battlefield and this monument, the 32nd Indiana Infantry Monument were relocated to the National cemetery.

The 32nd Infantry was nicknamed the 1st German regiment because it consisted primarily of German immigrants. On December 17th, 1861 the 32nd Infantry and Confederate Soldiers fought over a bridge that crossed the Green River (called the Battle of Rowlett's Station or the Battle of Green River). 13 members of the 32nd were killed in the battle and 11 were buried at the battle site. The regiment remained camped nearby in Munfordville for two months after that battle and in that time a Private name August Bloedner carved a monument from the limestone to mark the graves. August was born March 1st 1827 in Altenberg, Germany. He was trained in sculpture before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. On the frieze is a Bald Eagle holding cannons with American flags at either side. The inscription below it, written in German, translates to:

"Here lie the men of the 32nd First German Indiana Regiment sacrificed for the free Institutions of the Republic of the United States of North America.

They fell on 17 Dec. 1861, in an Encounter at Rowlett Station, in which 1 Regiment of Texas Rangers, 2 regiments of Infantry, and 6 Rebel Cannons, in all over 3000 Men, were defeated by 500 Germans."

It was put in place in January of 1862 and later moved to Cave Hill. The soft limestone wore away overtime and to protect the monument the original was moved to the Frazier History Museum where it is safe from weather and climate controlled. Still on display there it could be the oldest Civil War monument. In December of 2011 the new monument was installed at Cave Hill. And the English translation was added to the back. 

Since the main reason for the trip was our Waverly Hills Sanitarium Investigation I did look to see if I could find burial records in Cave Hill with place of death listed as Waverly. I found two: George A Mattingly 1896-1932 and Chrisler Ervin "Christy" Risinger unfortunately I was unable to find their grave markers at the cemetery.

There were many more beautiful monuments throughout the cemetery. It was a beautiful way to spend our early Sunday morning. I love seeing the monuments and learning about the many different people and their stories, whether they make it into this blog or not. 

I have joined a website called Find A Grave which is how I get a lot of the information about graves. As a member I can upload pictures as well as leave memorials to the graves I visit. Whether a grave makes it into my blog or not for everyone that I stop and visit I look up and add information if I can and leave a note. To me it is one of the things the internet gets right, an electronic record that a person lived and has value.