Stanton Presbyterian Church - 1870     

            Stanton-Adams Mausoleum

The church, built in 1870, is carpenter Gothic style and was the inspiration of Nathan Adams, son-in-law of the city’s founder, Joseph B. Stanton. The building is modeled after a church that Mr. Adams saw and admired when traveling in Scotland, and he brought the plan to be duplicated in his home town.

The mausoleum was constructed by a Louisville, Ky., firm and is placed on a base of cement and numerous carloads of brick. The marble shaft and doors were purchased by Mr. Adams in Italy for $10,000. The pieces were purchased in Genoa, Italy and shipped to New Orleans and up the Mississippi River to Memphis, then moved by freight car to Stanton and hauled on wagons drawn by oxen to the location on the lot. Apparently, the whole town came out to watch the construction.

Mrs. Adams died in 1877 and Mr. Adams in 1881. They are buried in the mausoleum but never moved the remains of Lucy Stanton, who died Oct. 22, 1852 and Joseph B. Stanton, who died Feb. 29, 1860. The founder of Stanton and his wife lie buried in unmarked graves in what was once the family graveyard near their mansion. The church’s first pastor, Rev. William Ingram, was so beloved by the congregation that he was buried behind the pulpit when he died in 1875.