Gravestones of parish founder, wife restored
Leader photos by Nancy Bergeron
The broken gravestones of Allen Greene, often credited with founding Lincoln Parish, and his wife Mahala are now whole again, thanks to the work of Dubach monument company owner John Brown. The markers, located in the Pecan Grove Cemetery northwest of Ruston, had sustained significant damage (below) over the years. Brown repaired and cleaned both markers at no charge after reading about the Lincoln Parish Sesquicentennial Committee’s effort to restore them. Allen Greene’s marker is on the left. His wife’s, topped with an obelisk, is on the right.
An inscription on Allen Greene’s marker reads, “He had a progressive mind and struggled hard to build up his country. But alas, his ideas were far in advance of the community in which he lived.”
It took John Brown about a week to restore the broken gravestones of the man credited with founding Lincoln Parish, and that of his wife.
Now the marble monuments that mark the final resting places of Allen and Mahala Greene once again stand tall and gleaming against the skyline in the small Pecan Grove Cemetery northwest of Ruston.
“It’s really meaningful to have a part in something for the man who founded Lincoln Parish,” said Brown, owner of Brown’s Monument and Stone of Dubach.
Greene is one of the most consequential figures in early Lincoln Parish history, Wesley Harris, local historian, and chairman of the Lincoln Parish Sesquicentennial Committee, said.
“He sought absolute power over politics to the point his opponents came close to responding with violence. Yet, Greene’s influence on north central Louisiana was significant despite the turmoil of the times. His appointment of freed slaves to political offices, the establishment of schools for their children, and creation of jobs through his industries improved life for many,” Harris said.
Earlier this month, the committee and the Lincoln Parish Museum issued a call for donations to repair the markers as part of this year’s sesquicentennial observance.
“When I saw that article, I told my wife we ought to see if there’s something we can do about that,” Brown said Tuesday.
He went to the museum and offered to repair both markers at no charge.
“The Browns really came to our rescue,” Harris said. “We put out the word requesting donations to repair the monuments, unsure how much we would raise. John Brown volunteering to repair the Greene markers without charge eliminated the need for a long fundraising campaign.”
The Greenes are buried in a family plot in Pecan Grove Cemetery on La. Hwy. 822 just of White Lightning Road. They had a farm, tannery, and shoe factory in the area. The markers are the tallest in the cemetery and are inside the plot surrounded by a low, moss- covered rock border. Other family members, including an infant and a 7-yearold boy, are also buried there.
Just a short walk away are graves of Confederate soliders.
Nobody knows how the Greenes’ markers got broken, or how long they had been that way. But the damage was significant.
The obelisk atop Mahala Greene’s gravestone appeared to have fallen off. Allen Greene’s marker was displaced from its base and broken in two.
Brown said he cleaned and repaired Mahala Greene’s marker on site. Allen Greene’s marker needed more work; he repaired it at Brown’s shop. Both markers weigh about 300 pounds.
A special epoxy was used to secure the pieces, and the cracks around the bases of both stones filled with grout, Brown said.
Allen Greene’s marker features the Masonic emblem and scrolled leaves.
“Somebody had to be an artist to do this type of work,” Brown said.
At the time Allen Greene died in 1883, most monument work was done by hand.
The inscription on the obelisk on Mahala Greene’s grave reads simply, “ Our Mother.” At the base of the marker is this: “Having served her generation by the will of God she fell asleep.”
Mahala Greene was born on April 8, 1818, and died on March 10, 1891, at age 72.
Allen Greene’s marker reads: “Born in Walton Co., Ga. May 23, 1818; Died July 13, 1883. He had a progressive mind and struggled hard to build up his country. But alas, his ideas were far in advance of the community in which he lived.”
