The following is an excerpt from an interview with Joseph Freed, Oakwood Cemetery's general manager for Metro Magazine
Raleigh's Serene And Scenic Oakwood Cemetery -
By Diane Lea
"The Power Of Love
Cemeteries are intrinsically sacred and romantic places where the beauty of the monuments and grounds stand as important reminders of the endurance of love and memory. Oakwood is no exception. Many tender love stories are rendered in the choices of memorials and sculpture. One of the most tragic is reflected in the small Grecian Temple of Diana that Philadelphia architect AG Bauer built by hand to honor the memory of his young wife, Rachel Blythe. Bauer was the right-hand man to Governor's Mansion architect Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia and even took over the completion of the project in 1885 when Sloan died two years after construction began. Bauer had met Blythe at a Raleigh boarding house. She was of Cherokee heritage, and the local citizenry, considering her of "mixed blood," refused to accept her into society after she and Bauer married. The Governor's Mansion was completed in 1891, and Blythe died in 1897 at a relatively young age. Perhaps, speculates Freed, her death was hastened by her imposed social isolation. Freed cites a letter sent by Bauer to a friend in which the broken-hearted widower refers to his work at Oakwood as being finished. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide."
Raleigh's Serene And Scenic Oakwood Cemetery -
By Diane Lea
"The Power Of Love
Cemeteries are intrinsically sacred and romantic places where the beauty of the monuments and grounds stand as important reminders of the endurance of love and memory. Oakwood is no exception. Many tender love stories are rendered in the choices of memorials and sculpture. One of the most tragic is reflected in the small Grecian Temple of Diana that Philadelphia architect AG Bauer built by hand to honor the memory of his young wife, Rachel Blythe. Bauer was the right-hand man to Governor's Mansion architect Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia and even took over the completion of the project in 1885 when Sloan died two years after construction began. Bauer had met Blythe at a Raleigh boarding house. She was of Cherokee heritage, and the local citizenry, considering her of "mixed blood," refused to accept her into society after she and Bauer married. The Governor's Mansion was completed in 1891, and Blythe died in 1897 at a relatively young age. Perhaps, speculates Freed, her death was hastened by her imposed social isolation. Freed cites a letter sent by Bauer to a friend in which the broken-hearted widower refers to his work at Oakwood as being finished. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide."
The following is an excerpt from an interview with Joseph Freed, Oakwood Cemetery's general manager for Metro Magazine
Raleigh's Serene And Scenic Oakwood Cemetery -
By Diane Lea
"The Power Of Love
Cemeteries are intrinsically sacred and romantic places where the beauty of the monuments and grounds stand as important reminders of the endurance of love and memory. Oakwood is no exception. Many tender love stories are rendered in the choices of memorials and sculpture. One of the most tragic is reflected in the small Grecian Temple of Diana that Philadelphia architect AG Bauer built by hand to honor the memory of his young wife, Rachel Blythe. Bauer was the right-hand man to Governor's Mansion architect Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia and even took over the completion of the project in 1885 when Sloan died two years after construction began. Bauer had met Blythe at a Raleigh boarding house. She was of Cherokee heritage, and the local citizenry, considering her of "mixed blood," refused to accept her into society after she and Bauer married. The Governor's Mansion was completed in 1891, and Blythe died in 1897 at a relatively young age. Perhaps, speculates Freed, her death was hastened by her imposed social isolation. Freed cites a letter sent by Bauer to a friend in which the broken-hearted widower refers to his work at Oakwood as being finished. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide."
Raleigh's Serene And Scenic Oakwood Cemetery -
By Diane Lea
"The Power Of Love
Cemeteries are intrinsically sacred and romantic places where the beauty of the monuments and grounds stand as important reminders of the endurance of love and memory. Oakwood is no exception. Many tender love stories are rendered in the choices of memorials and sculpture. One of the most tragic is reflected in the small Grecian Temple of Diana that Philadelphia architect AG Bauer built by hand to honor the memory of his young wife, Rachel Blythe. Bauer was the right-hand man to Governor's Mansion architect Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia and even took over the completion of the project in 1885 when Sloan died two years after construction began. Bauer had met Blythe at a Raleigh boarding house. She was of Cherokee heritage, and the local citizenry, considering her of "mixed blood," refused to accept her into society after she and Bauer married. The Governor's Mansion was completed in 1891, and Blythe died in 1897 at a relatively young age. Perhaps, speculates Freed, her death was hastened by her imposed social isolation. Freed cites a letter sent by Bauer to a friend in which the broken-hearted widower refers to his work at Oakwood as being finished. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide."
Inscription
"In thy dark eyes splendor
Where the warm light loves to dwell
Weary looks yet tender
Speak their last farewell"
"True worth is being, not seeming."
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