The Hidden Meaning and Secrets of Cemetery Symbols

A Graveyard Adventure

Tuesday, July 2 @ 5:30

Fort Smith Museum of History

a: 320 Rogers Avenue.

p: 479-783-7841

e: info@fortsmithmuseum.com

Tickets: fortsmithmuseum.org

Regular admission fees apply; FSMH Members are free.

Join us for "A Graveyard Adventure", a program featuring a discussion and presentation of 19th century graveyard and gravestone symbolism with FSMH Board member, Marcus Woodward on Tuesday, July 2 @ 5:30.

Doors open at 5:30 pm.

The program evolved through Mr. Woodward's personal journey as he worked to locate a family cemetery north of Branch, AR. A family trip with his father and cousin led to discoveries of family plots and their headstones.  Gravestone symbolism in the 19th century, especially during the Victorian era, was a way to convey meaning and record facts. Symbols were often elaborate carvings that held special significance to the deceased and their loved ones. Lambs, Open or closed books, Clasped hands, Oak leaves and acorns are but a few of the examples discussed throughout the presentation.

Marcus Woodward, a native of Fort Smith, taught history in area Fort Smith schools for 30 years. Always an admirer of the fantasy genre of writing, Woodward studied creative writing under the Arkansas author, Francis Irby Gwaltney, who made friends with Norman Mailer during World War II. After college, Woodward was fortunate to study in Austria. Through the years, Woodward has written poems, short stories, and even a play about Oskar Kokoschkas strange fascination with Alma Mahler. His works include Twisted Solitude, Landfall in Oblivion, Writings of a Cultural Nomad: A Collection and his children's book, Bad Boy Bartlett. Mr. Woodward has been a volunteer at the Fort Smith Museum of History for nearly two decades and a member of the Board of Trustees since 2019.