Even if you do not like cemeteries, Eagle Cliff / Miles Cemetery has something else to offer. It has a gorgesous view! Set on top of a giant hill you can look down on the countryside. Fields of crops are divided by rows of trees. The ground is totally flat until you reach another giant hill, or bluff, off into the distance. Stephen W. Miles liked this view so much that he decided to build his own mausoleum into this hill!
He hired Major Yrasillion to build his tomb. Mr. Miles wanted marble so he sent for marble all the way over in Italy. It was transported from New Orleans up the Mississippi River by a steamship. Major Yrasillion went to work and created an oddly beautiful tomb. It had an intricate exterior and the interior had fifty-six vaults. It was built in 1858. This was also the same year that Miles died. It wasn't ready for Miles yet, and I am unclear whether Stephen Miles was buried in this cemetery or somewhere else.
Sadly, vandals vandalized the mausoleum and cemetery throughout its history. They stole the original wrought iron fence in front of the mausoleum and tore things up pretty badly. They tipped over tombstones and sray painted. They even vandalized the inside of the vaults. Thanks to volunteers in 1963 and any groups that have helped out since, the cemetery has been restored. The mausoleum was fixed up and is open to look at. All of the vaults are empty now.
I think this historic little place in Waterloo is a neat place to visit. It offers a great view and a history lesson. Time seemed to stand still here. It is interesting to think about how many families must have come there stricken with grief as they buried a loved one. Looking out at this view, though, must have given them hope and comfort. I felt myself standing in their shoes but trapped in the present day. "Time moves in one direction, memory in another." -William Gibson
My two pictures here had the sun coming in from the west. It created the deep green trees and hazy sky in the top one and below it was shining directly on the mausoleum. This picture shows the front of the mausoleum as it goes into the hill.
Driving away from the cemetery I gave it one last look. It was empty and quiet. Maybe this is an unlikely place for anyone to visit, but I think it has so much to offer. Please treat this special place with the utmost respect it deserves. Treat the graves with honor and respect.
I have seen the vandalized photo, and cannot imagine anyone doing such destruction, even taking the fence. Such a sad story, and to think that the bodies are no longer in there original resting place, I wonder if the dead buried there were all family members of the man who had this mausoleum built.
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