W.H. Matthews Mausoleum at Mount Hope Cemetery Restoration

W.H. Matthews Mausoleum

The restoration of the W.H. Matthews mausoleum at Mount Hope Cemetery in Raleigh, NC is nearing completion. W.H. Matthews was a mason and contractor who lived in Raleigh.  Believed to have been designed by his son W.J. Matthews of Chicago, his mausoleum is one of the more significant monuments in the cemetery. Built from a variety of stones collected by Mr. Matthews from his work across North Carolina, it features a barrel vaulted roof and cast iron door.

Mount Hope was founded in 1872 as a city-owned African-American cemetery, among the first of its kind in North Carolina.

"A peculiar feature of the funeral of William Matthews...was the fact that the body was encased in a coffin of glass, the entire form being in plain view." © News & Observer 6/24/1902

"His life was a lesson of industry and thrift.  Having labored and earned money with which he purchased his freedom before the war, he prized the same so highly that he always tried to live a life free from blemish."© News & Observer 6/19/1902

Mausoleum Before Restoration

Restored Stone Work