RICHMOND, Va. -- When you think of a cemetery, the word "beautiful" might not be the first that comes to mind. But that's exactly what describes the Hollywood Cemetery.
And tucked inside of the rolling hills and views of the James River lies a tomb that holds the fifth President of the United States James Monroe.
But how he ended up in the heart of Richmond is a tale worthy of knowing.
Born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, James Monroe was one of the founding fathers of the United States as well as a two term Governor of the Commonwealth.
However, following his time at the White House, Monroe fell on hard times financially and would be forced to sell his Virginia home.
Then in 1830, Monroe's wife, Elizabeth, would die leaving the former president a widower.
Monroe would then move to his daughter's home in New York City prior to his death on July 4, 1831. (He is the third and final president to die on the fourth of July)
But his body would only remain in its New York resting place for 27 years.
In 1858, Virginia's General Assembly would approve $2,000 in appropriations to exhume Monroe's body and move it to a final resting place in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.
Virginia's Governor at the time, Henry Alexander Wise, would launch the plan of "bring Monroe home."
Wise, who would lead Virginia through secession in 1861 was driven by Virginia pride to have bodies of Virginia presidents buried in Richmond.
Wise at the time had hoped to have Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all buried side by side in Hollywood Cemetery. But the Jefferson and Madison families would decline.
It was on July 2, 1858 that Monroe's body would be exhumed and put on viewing in front of an estimated crowd of ten thousand spectators.
His body would then be loaded onto a steamboat named 'Jamestown' and shipped to Richmond.
Once here in the River City, Monroe's body was once again buried this time surrounded by a cast iron tomb made in Philadelphia.
While Governor Wise's dream of Hollywood Cemetery recognizing Virginia's contributions to the nation may not have come to fruition his mark on its history remains.
In 1876, Governor Wise would die and be buried in Hollywood Cemetery about 100 yards away from Monroe's grave.
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