The Pink Elephant Of Hamlet

You can find a gravestone of a pink elephant at the Mary Love Cemetery in Hamlet, NC, although you have to look closely to notice the subt...



You can find a gravestone of a pink elephant at the Mary Love Cemetery in Hamlet, NC, although you have to look closely to notice the subtle pink hue.

It is not the final resting spot of Mitchell the Circus Elephant.

It is not the final resting spot of an elephant trainer named Mitchell.

It is not the final resting spot of Mitchell, the town drunk whose drinking was so severe he was plagued by hallucinations of pink elephants.

While all of these urban legends sound plausible, the truth is the grave marks the final resting place of Joseph W. Mitchell, a die hard Republican whose final wish was to have an elephant marking his grave. His wife, Elizabeth Beacham Mitchell, had the elephant made from pink granite because she thought that particular type was the hardest of all granite. It's not.



Fun fact: The pink elephant gravestone was sculpted by Cohen Ludwig, one of the sculptors responsible for Georgia's gigantic Confederate Memorial Carving, the 90' by 190' Stone Mountain carving of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

sources: [1 | 2 | 3]

What To Know Before You Go

GPS Coordinates: (34.892475, -79.691397)
Location: 303 Oakland Avenue, Hamlet, NC

Rating

Related

Sightings 5249102622831451297

Post a Comment

emo-but-icon

Follow Us

Hot this week

Recent

Connect With Us

Strange Carolinas is the Travelogue Of The Offbeat, a wry look at the interesting, unique, and offbeat roadside attractions, people, music, art, food, and festivals in North and South Carolina.

EMAIL
strangecarolinas@gmail.com

CALL/TEXT
336.907.2393
item
- Navigation -