The Greek Revival mausoleum was built between 1841 and 1845 on a chalk bluff overlooking the Tombigbee River, southwest of Demopolis. It was built by Mary Anne Glover, second wife of Allen Glover. Allen Glover died in 1840 and was initially buried elsewhere. The bodies of Allen Glover, his first wife, and a daughter were moved to the vaults after it was completed in 1845. A Gothic Revival cast iron fence was added around the vault in 1858. Ann Glover allowed other family members to be buried around the mausoleum in later years, and in 1882 she began to sell lots to the public. This led to the establishment of the site as Riverside Cemetery. The fence has experienced considerable vandalism in more recent years and has been largely removed.
The mausoleum contains burial vaults for thirty people. There are fifteen vaults on the east and west sides, stacked five horizontally and three vertically. The mausoleum is a square brick structure, plastered over with smooth stucco and scored to give the appearance of ashlar. A porch surrounds the vaults on all four sides, with solid masonry corners and openings on each side supported by a span of three cast iron columns. The low-pitched masonry roof is topped by a granite orb and cross.
The Glover Mausoleum photographed and recorded in the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) in 1934. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974. It is located at the back side of Riverside Cemetery that’s on the southwest side of Demopolis, AL (GPS coordinates 32.515229, -87.849263). The cemetery entrance is a Decatur and Griffin streets.
Sources: 1) NRHP “Glover Mausoleum” Nomination Form; 2) The Alabama Catalog, A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State, by Robert Gamble; 3) Wikipedia.
B&W photographs courtesy US Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: Alex Bush, date: December 28, 1934.