Wooldridge Monuments keep watch at Maplewood Cemetary once again

A group of 75 residents and family members, including Colonel Wooldridge himself, marked the re-dedication of the monuments that represent one of Mayfield, Kentucky’s most beloved historic sites. The re-dedication of the Wooldridge Monuments in Mayfield’s Maplewood Cemetery has been greatly anticipated since the ice storm in January 2009 demolished many of the statues.

The event was packed with emotion and a sense of the surreal when Colonel Wooldridge and his trusty steed “Fop” strolled up to the those gathered for the re-dedication and "on behalf of me and the girls", thanked everyone attending for restoring the monuments. The addition of the actor portraying the late Colonel was an unexpected surprise that brought a true sense of history to the event. As the mayor of Mayfield asked descendants of the Wooldridge family to cut the ribbon, officially re-opening the site, a brass ensemble played a stirring rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home”.

A collection of 18 life-sized effigies have kept watch over the Maplewood Cemetery in Mayfield, Kentucky since Colonel Henry Wooldridge’s death in 1899. A horse trader born 1822 in Williamson County, Tennessee, Wooldridge is represented in the collection in marble as the man leaning on a pillar and astride his horse “Fop”. He is entombed in the vault in the center of the plot. Monuments in effigy include family members, a favorite foxhound, Bob, and his deer hound, Towhead. A fox and deer are two of the other animals featured in the grouping.

The restoration effort was completed by contractors from the Monument Conservation Collaborative in Norfolk, Connecticut. It took almost a year to secure the funding to repair the monuments. FEMA has pledged to bear 75% of the cost of the restoration, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is committed to 13% and the city of Mayfield will shoulder 12% of the cost. Mayor Arthur Bryn claimed in his remarks that the complete restoration costs were “over $100,000”. Byrn expressed his hope, punctuated by general laughter from the crowd, that  “the government was going to keep their promise to pay some of that”.