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GC099.JPG

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Crouse Mausoleum Oakwood Cemetery Syracuse, New York Architect H.Q. French of New York designed this mausoleum in 1884 for John Crouse (1802-1891). It is in a style that can only be described as “uniquely funerary”. The main body of the Crouse tomb appears to be Romanesque Revival or “English Gothic” as it was known at the time, but certain details such as the piston-like columns suggest the influence of Frank Furness (Furness was a Philadelphia architect noted for his highly personal style). Crouse wanted to make sure he knew what he was getting, when it came to his eternal home so he had it built in anticipation of his death (which would occur 7 years after the completion of the mausoleum), rather than have some relative attend to its construction, after his death. Crouse’s eccentricities did not end with the construction of his final resting spot. Shortly after its completion, Crouse got it in his mind that he wanted a large granite boulder beside the mausoleum and located a suitable one in a field nine miles from his mausoleum. Unable to find anyone in Syracuse who could move the giant boulder, he took a trip to Barre, Vermont to see the legendary granite mover Fayette “Fay” Cutler. Cutler agreed to do the job and for weeks the local newspapers reported on the daily progress of the 10’X12’ 175 ton pink granite boulder. The ivy covered rock rests across from the mausoleum. As if that wasn’t enough, a single block of gray granite forms the pathway to the mausoleum. The thirty five foot long, five foot wide and 10 inch thick stone weighs 35 tons. John Crouse was an industrialist and capitalist who was known as the wealthiest man in Syracuse, achieved the bulk of his wealth in the wholesale grocery business.