Davis Memorial
From U.S. 73, ½ mile east on Iowa to Mount Hope Cemetery. It’s rather startling to find this incredible memorial so casually situated within a town cemetery. John Davis erected it for his wife, Sarah, who died in 1930. By 1934 the memorial contained 11 life-sized statues made of Italian marble and covered by a marble canopy. The statues depict stages of John and Sarah’s lives. One shows him without his left hand, which he had lost due to infection. Another life stage includes a “vacant chair,” indicating Sarah’s death. The detail of the faces and features was excellent at one time, but weather and vandals have taken a toll. Controversy remains about why Davis built the memorial. Some think he did it to spite his wife’s heirs (spending all the money that they would have inherited). Others believe Davis should have donated the money to build a hospital during the hard days of the Great Depression. In any case, it remains one of the most remarkable cemetery memorials in the country. And Davis apparently was pleased with the creation—during his later years he would come to the cemetery to watch tourists view it. A nearby pavilion tells the story of the memorial. (NRHP)
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