Inside a Historic Missouri Family Mausoleum Where 16 Souls Rested

There are very few buildings like it in Missouri. It's a historic family mausoleum that dates back more than 100 years which is now empty, but once was the forever resting place for 16 souls. Thanks to a recent renovation, you can now see what it's like inside.

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The Miller Family Mausoleum in Holden, Missouri is a fascinating structure with an equally interesting past. Preserve Missouri says that it was built by Joseph M. Miller between 1915 and 1918. He was a Christian minister who believed that it was wrong to bury bodies under the ground according to his understanding of the Bible. That inspired him to create this grand mausoleum for his family.

Saving Places says that the mausoleum was built to house 48 family members, but only 16 were interred there. Eventually, it began to fall into disrepair as the years went by until a man named Carl Cranfill entered the picture. Joseph M. Miller is Carl's great grandfather and he could not bear to watch it degrade. Back in 2016, he began a project where with the rest of the family's permission, the family members in the mausoleum were buried in the nearby cemetery and he began repairing the mausoleum.

Eventually, the inside of the mausoleum was opened up so residents could see the history inside and out.

The support for this renovation has even involved the creation of a Friends of the Miller Mausoleum Facebook page. My understanding is ownership of this mausoleum has now been transferred to the community of Holden for historic preservation and interpretation. Preserving it is vital as there are few structures like it in Missouri.