Lexington Cemetery
Lexington, Kentucky
Inscription on the Samuel and Mary Wilson monument
This cemetery was established in 1849 and consists of 170 acres. Although a public cemetery, it also includes a separate parcel that serves as the Lexington National Cemetery, where 1,388 Union soldiers of the Civil War are buried. You can learn more about the National Cemetery here. Lexington cemetery is loaded with history and very good sculpture, and is well worth the time to visit.
Sculpture of the Jacobs monument, which can be found across from the mausoleum at the western end of the cemetery. This presentation of a mourning angel, with a very similar pose and only minor differences, can be found in other cemeteries around the country.
In the central portion of the cemetery, there are fewer sculptures, but a nice selection of beautifully carved monuments:
Above and below: the cemetery boasts the largest American Basswood tree in the United States, said to have been growing here during the signing of the Constitution.
In the oldest portion of the cemetery, the age of the headstones is readily apparent due to the weathering of the stones and the growth of mosses and lichens on them:
In this area, there's some very good sculpture to be seen, as in the case of this life-size representation of David Austin Sayre:
An angel cast in bronze:
Above and below: this stunning sculpture of John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate general from Kentucky, was relocated to the cemetery after being removed from the grounds of a county courthouse in 2017, due to public displeasure with Confederate monuments. The sculpture can be found in the Confederate section of the cemetery, where Morgan himself is buried, within sight of the Lexington National Cemetery grounds.
In the National Cemetery:
This area, consisting of only 3/4 of an acre, is quite different from the rest of the cemetery.
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