Fall River Man’s Headstone Proves You Can Take It With You

If you aren't buried under a ridiculous, attention-getting headstone, did you even live?

F.H. Stafford understood the assignment of life so well that 132 years after his death, his final resting place still stands out. A humble marker simply wouldn't do for the Fall River mill owner who died in 1891. Instead, he took the mill with him.

On a hill overlooking the city where cotton mills were plentiful in Stafford's day, you'll find a miniature replica of one such mill. It's among the most interesting sights in sprawling Oak Grove Cemetery, right up there with Lizzie Borden's grave.

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It's proof, as the Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery note, that sometimes you can take it with you.

Foster H. Stafford was the first president of the Stafford Mills complex starting in the 1870s when Fall River was a textile powerhouse. While many of the city's former mills are long gone, Stafford's buildings remain prominent fixtures at the intersection of Pleasant, County and Quarry streets, across from Flint Village Plaza.

READ MORE: This 192-Year-Old Tortoise Is Old Enough to Be Lizzie Borden's Father

Stafford's monument bears a striking resemblance to the repurposed buildings thousands drive by daily, down to the windows, doorways and roof. It's a remarkable statement about a city leader beyond his name, and birth and death dates.

Stafford must have been proud of his prominent role in the city. "It was the wish of Mr. Stafford to erect this lasting tribute to his life’s work," the Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery said.

The monument was so unusual that it attracted the attention of the New York Times. In 1897, the paper shared this headline:

ODD FALL RIVER TOMBSTONE.;

A Miniature Mill Over the Grave of F.H. Stafford, Who Was a Mill Owner

Established in 1855, Oak Grove is where some of the most noteworthy people in Fall River history are buried. Many visit to see Lizzie Borden's grave and those of the two people she was accused of killing with a hatchet, her father and stepmother. That family plot is so popular that the cemetery offers directions to it via white arrows on the ground.

The cemetery, with entrances off of Prospect Street and Oak Grove Avenue, is still active with new burials.