I first heard the story of Mrs. Munroe from my grandmother when I was a small child. It is the local must-tell ghost story for children, for it always happens just as the story says.
You walk up to the Munroe mausoleum in the original section of Friendship Cemetery, right behind the grave of Gen. S.D. Lee, and in a loud voice holler through its wrought iron opening, “Mrs. Munroe, Mrs. Munroe, what are you doing?” She will always say, “Nothing, nothing at all.” Every single time I have taken children there, that is exactly what she has said. It is a Columbus children’s tradition that goes back well over 100 years.
However, Mrs. Munroe’s mausoleum is now showing its age of 150 years. Its bricks are crumbling, and weeds and vines are growing out of its sides and roof. There have been discussions in the past about its need for restoration, but Mrs. Munroe has no known living descendants or relatives. Few people realize that the mausoleum is a miniature version of Annunciation Catholic Church on College Street and Mrs. Munroe’s story tracks the church’s early history.
Little is known of Margaret Boyle Munroe prior to the mid-1850s. She was born Margaret Boyle in Pennsylvania about 1828 and was a seamstress. Her family, though not in the Lowndes County census of 1850, appears in Columbus by the mid-1850s. They may have been related to Abraham Boyle who was receiving mail at the Columbus post office in 1838. Prior to the construction of Annunciation Catholic Church, services were held in private homes, including the Boyle home. There was not a priest in Columbus and Father Bolheme of Paulding would come to Columbus to do services.
In 1860 Margaret married William Munroe, a native of Scotland who was a plasterer by trade. After the Civil War ended, Munroe opened a bookstore in Columbus. Margaret and her family remained active in the Catholic church and helped bring French-born priest and architect Father Jean Baptist Mouton to Columbus in the early 1860s. Mouton took on the task of designing and building a Catholic church on College Street in Columbus. Mouton designed a church for Columbus that incorporated the lines of Paris’ 13th Century Church of Sainte-Chapelle, which was completed and consecrated on April 26, 1248.
The design of Annunciation is an example of a type of Gothic form rarely found in the South and is one of the most architecturally significant religious structures in Mississippi. Though the cornerstone was laid May 4, 1863, the church was not completed until 1869. According to Ken P’Pool: “The facade of the church is an eclectic assortment of French Gothic motifs. Its three-bay composition is a typically French ploy that dates to the earliest Gothic cathedrals.” The vaulted ceilings and interior plan of the church also closely duplicate the interior form of Sainte-Chapelle. Each of the interior columns and piers is painted to appear to be marble. Once inside, a worshiper is treated to the feel of a grand medieval church.
In 1910 there were major renovations and repairs to the church, including refinishing the exterior walls. Around that time beautiful colored glass windows were placed in the church. In 1913 the windows of “Immaculate Conception” and “Visitation” were placed through the efforts of Father Yoerg. The two windows were created by the Jacoby Art Glass Co. of St Louis. It was not long ago that Annunciation Catholic Church underwent a major restoration and was designated a Mississippi Landmark by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The church was carefully and lovingly restored with both its interior and exterior again reflecting the medieval beauty of Sainte-Chapelle and its Paris heritage.
It was after 1870 that Margaret Munroe died and, in her memory, and in recognition of her as “the mother of the local Catholic Church” her mausoleum was designed to appear as a miniature version of Annunciation Catholic Church. A church she helped found and whose first priest, architect and builder she helped bring to Columbus. Today it needs to be restored and once again become recognizable as the historic monument that it is.
About a week ago Carol Boggess told me that fundraising for the restoration of Mrs. Munroe’s Mausoleum already was a project being undertaken by members of Columbus Garden Club. Tax deductible donations can be made to: Munroe Crypt Fund, c/o Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation, P.O. Box 789, Columbus, MS 39703
Thanks to Carol Boggess, Carolyn Kaye and Steve Pieschel for help with this column.
Rufus Ward is a local historian.
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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