The Heartbreaking Stories Behind the Two Dollhouses That Stand In Indiana Cemeteries
Indiana is home to many unique final resting places, but these two graves have to be among the most unique and heartbreaking.
Indiana's Dollhouse Graves
There are many graves across the state of Indiana that are unique memorial sites for loved ones, however, two are notable because not only are they dollhouses, but they stand as symbols of parents' grief. The graves of Vivian Mae Allison and Lova Cline are heartbreakingly beautiful.
The Grave of Vivan Mae Allison
Located in Connersville, Indiana is a serene cemetery with hundreds of headstones and monuments. When looking across the cemetery onlookers will also see something that seems out of place, but it stands as a memorial, and that is a white and green dollhouse. This dollhouse is used as a memorial for Vivian Mae Allison and a marker of her final resting place.
According to OrangeBeanIndiana.com Vivan Mae Allison passed away at the age of 5 years old in 1899. Vivian's father was building her a dollhouse for Christmas that year, but tragically Vivian passed away before she could receive her father's gift. For nearly 70 years after Vivian's passing her parents visited her grave and took care of the dollhouse regularly. What an incredible testament to the love Vivian's parents had for her.
After her parents passed away, other family members came regularly to care for the grave. Now that the close family of Vivian has all passed, the town of Connersville has volunteers that tend to the dollhouse and keep it safe from vandals.
Lova Cline's Dollhouse
Just about 25 miles away from Vivian's grave is the final resting place of Lova Cline. Lova Cline's final resting place is in Rushville, Indiana in the Arlington East Hill Cemetery. Like Vivian, Lova passed away much too young in 1908 at the age of only 6. Lova was born in 1902 and described as having a "crippling neurological condition" by FindaGrave.com.
According to RoadsideAmerica.com Lova's one joy in life was gazing into a dollhouse that her father built, so when she passed away her father had it made into her grave marker so it would always be near her. A sign with Lova's story sits by her dollhouse, it says that Lova would sit and gaze into the dollhouse windows, so her mother decorated the dollhouse for her. The sign also says that the dollhouse weighs over 400lbs and is 5 feet tall.
When her parents later passed away they were buried at a different cemetery than Lova, so the town actually moved Lova's grave and dollhouse marker to its current location so she could be laid to rest with her parents.
A Heartbreakingly Beautiful Symbol of Parents' Love
These two graves are not only unique because they have dollhouses as grave markers, but also because they are a heartbreakingly beautiful symbol of parents' love. Both of these graves are easily found in their respective cemeteries, so if you'd like to visit and pay respects it isn't hard to find their locations online. However, if you do decide to visit, please visit respectfully and remember these two unique grave markers mark the final resting places of someone's child.
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Gallery Credit: Melissa