Funerary Art

Understanding funerary art found throughout the cemetery

The array of funerary art in Elmwood/Pinewood Cemetery attests to the economic and social diversity of those interred here. The headstones in the cemetery vary greatly in size, shape and intricacy of detailing, depending upon the wealth of the family or organization that commissioned the stone. The elaborate Baroque or Neoclassical headstones–most often carved from marble, granite or local stone–are prevalent in the cemetery’s eastern portion. The very wealthiest families constructed mausoleums or adorned graves with elaborate sculptures. In contrast, the graves of Potter’s Field are often unmarked or unidentifiable.

The shape, decoration and inscription of a headstone reveal a great deal about the person buried beneath it. Lambs and cherubs sit atop the graves of small children; blooming roses indicate the death of a young person who died while in the prime of their life. The headstones of Charlotte’s Greek citizens are decorated with the Greek Orthodox cross and often feature a picture of the deceased, secured directly to the stone. Many members of the Woodmen of the World organization were honored after death with a tombstone intricately carved in the shape of a log. Members of a Masonic order chose to inscribe their tombstones with the compass and the square. A stone commemorating World War I veterans from Camp Greene features the symbol of the American Legion.