Mausoleums

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The Mini-Mansions of Oakwood Cemetery

Oakwood is home to 24 mausoleums and burial vaults exhibiting a wide range of mid-late 19th Century architectural styles. These grand structures house the remains of some of the area’s founding families, industrialists and politicians.

Warren Chapel and Mausoleum. The Warren Chapel was designed in the English Gothic Style by noted New York architect Henry C. Dudley in 1861. A later addition of a bell tower was also designed by Dudley in 1883. The building is the next-largest chapel and mausoleum after the Earl Chapel and Crematorium. The family vaults lie beneath the floor of the chapel. The Warren family settled in Troy in the 1700’s, first engaging in the mercantile trade before engaging in the stove and hardware foundries that made Troy famous in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Paine Mausoleum. The Paine Mausoleum is octagonal and features benches for visitors to rest. Designed in the classical style, it is the final resting place of John Paine, a banker and the first President of the Troy Cemetery Association. A benefactor and a promoter of city welfare, Mr. Paine died in Troy in February, 1852.

Tibbits Mausoleum. The Tibbits Mausoleum was designed by architect Henry C. Dudley in the Gothic Style, and was completed in 1870. It is the final resting place of George Mortimer Tibbits, a Troy merchant and a strong advocate for the Union Army during the Civil War. He supported his son, General William Badger Tibbits , who served with distinction during the war and formed the Tibbits Cadets, a regiment based out of Troy. A plaque commemorating General Tibbits and the Tibbits Cadets adorns the exterior of the mausoleum.

Tracy Mausoleum. Erected in 1904, the Tracy Mausoleum is made of Westerly granite and designed in the Classical style. The mausoleum features a distinctive beehive roof and an interior dome of mosaic. It was built for Sarah Tracy and her family. Raised in Lansingburgh, Sara was educated at Manhattan’s Sacred Heart Convent and taught in Lansingburgh for many years. Upon inheriting her brother’s vast fortune, she became a major benefactor to the Catholic Church in the Wheeling Charleston, West Virginia Diocese as a result of her friendship with the Bishop of Wheeling. Her bequest led to the founding of Wheeling College.

Vail, Marshall and Thompson McConihe Mausoleums. The Vail Vault is a Gothic style mausoleum built into a raised hillside. In front of its sandstone façade is a magnificent example of cast iron urns and decorative posts. This type of decorative ornamentation speaks to the Vail family who owned iron works in Troy.

The Marshall Mausoleum is Greek Ionic, and the Thompson McConihe Mausoleum is built in the Classical style. Benjamin Marshall harnessed the water power of the Poestenkill Creek that powered a number of textile factories, including the Marshall factories, and other industrial concerns on the Poestenkill. The Thompson family was also involved in industrial and mercantile pursuits in Troy. It is unclear whether the hillside was created for the three mausoleums or was a natural feature that was then utilized for the vaults.