The Wooldridge Monuments

~ Last updated on Sep 28, 2021 ~

The World’s Largest Non-Moving Cemetery Procession

…Or as some refer to it, “The Strange Procession Which Never Moves“. The Wooldridge Monuments were built for Colonel Henry G. Wooldridge, to commemorate his family members and loved ones.

I normally do not take pictures of graves, but this one was just too unique that I felt I had to document it. I especially appreciated seeing the inclusion of the animals within it as well.

The total area is 17 by 33 feet (5.2 by 10.1 m). Even though there are 18 monuments in total, Wooldridge is the only one buried on site. The most prominent statue is the 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) likeness of Wooldridge atop his horse, named “Fop”. The other statues are 5 feet (1.5 m) tall on 3-foot-tall (0.91 m) bases, and represent family members.

The female statues:
Wooldridge’s mother Keziah, his sisters Minerva, Narcissa, Susan, and his nieces Maud and Minnie.

The male statues:
His brothers Alfred, John, Josiah, and W.H. There is no statue depicting Wooldridge’s father.

The animal statues:
Replicas of a fox, a deer, and two hounds chasing them. While the dogs are unidentified on their markers, they represent Wooldridge’s dogs “Towhead” and “Bob”.

Another thing I found interesting was that Wooldridge was a Freemason, which might explain the size and detail put into this memorial. Additionally, all of the monuments face East, as do most of the plots in this cemetery.

I have read that the reason might be tied to the Christian scripture of the second coming of Christ, which teaches that he will come from the east. In this manner, they are most likely positioned this way so they can meet Christ face-to-face during his second coming. While I would not consider myself to be religious (more spiritual), I enjoy learning about these types of details.