Tombstone Tuesday: Baby in the Glass

Today I'm sharing information about a grave that I photographed in 2012. Thanks to Patrick Clement for permission to use his online article.

Fairview Cemetery - Kiowa County, KS

Perhaps one of the most infamous and bizarre attractions inside Greensburg's Fairview Cemetery is what locals have come to call "The baby in the glass." The above ground baby mausoleum has fueled speculation for years about its unknown history and unusual characteristics.

While many wonder about the motivation or possible purpose of the memorial, there is no questioning that it is a marker for a baby who passed away on the same day as her birth.

The headstone is a glass fronted cave measuring about one and a half feet tall and is located in the old section of the local cemetery.

Some say the child was born to a family who was passing though Greensburg.
Others say they remember the family and that they owned a large black sedan that would burp plumes of ebony smoke.

Former cemetery sexton Ed Schoenberger said that when he discovered the headstone around 1989. He said the front glass had been broken and that there were shards strewn across the cemetery lawn.

Schoenberger didn't say if someone had broken into it, or if something had broken out of it. He did dismiss the notion that the child had been buried above ground inside of the glass and stone enclosure but said it was filled with strange wires. But one could wonder about the make-up of a man that so enjoys the company of the deceased he would make it his occupation.

Schoenberger said he spent hours piecing together the broken glass to decipher the writing, which revealed the father's name and the date of the baby's birth and death.

The front glass identified it as the grave of the "Daughter of F.L. Scott." The birthday and day of death are both listed as July 26, 1925 though local papers never reported on the passing of the baby girl.

Interestingly the information, which revealed the name of the father and the date of death, were painted on backwards… from the inside of the tomb.

Article appeared online November 1, 2012