Pewee Valley Confederate Veterans Cemetery (Oldham County)
Zinc obelisk on limestone base, 1904
Inscription:Erected by Briscoe Hindman June 1904 In Memory of Our Confederate Dead.
In 1902, the Daughters of the Confederacy and Confederate veterans purchased Villa Ridge, a summer resort in Pewee Valley, as the site for the newly legislated Kentucky Confederate Home. The home served as a health care/nursing facility for former soldiers, including several of John Hunt Morgan's Raiders. As many as 700 veterans were housed there at one time, but as the years went on, the number of residents dwindled until the Home was closed in 1934.
The Pewee Valley Confederate Veterans Cemetery is adjacent to Villa Ridge, and this monument was erected there soon after the establishment of the Confederate Home.
Of the more than two dozen Civil War obelisks erected in Kentucky, this one is the only one cast from zinc. Most are carved of limestone or marble. This monument is also unusual for its architectural element separating the obelisk from the base. This section, which forms an arch on each face, resembles a Gothic altar and contains the inscription, plus depictions of Confederate flags on the three other sides.
Questions/Activities:
What is a Gothic arch? Find Gothic arches on buildings in your community and draw or photograph a number of these arches for comparison.
