Cottage Grove Cemetery

Spread out on a pleasant hillside just west of town is the Cottage Grove Cemetery. We found that there were plenty of older gravestones to see here.

The leading number in this fellow's age is a bit lost in the dark part of the stone. It doesn't quite look like a an "8" or a "2". I'm guessing the younger age since it also lists the age right to the day. Not a common practice for old folks.

This stone is very difficult to read in places and I can only assume that this gentleman was in the tree harvesting business. He was a member of the Woodmen of the World (hence the tree stump shaped stone). Read about the Woodmen to see more of this fraternal insurance organization.

It was common in the Victorian era to add symbolism to the gravestone and this one is certainly no exception. The three-link chain is a symbol of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The eye in the star represents the all-seeing eye of God. this and the dove are often (though not always) associated with the masons.

These stained markers are standing together as if they are sentinels watching in the forest (for a bigfoot?).