Endowed with a fortune from his tanning business, Mr. John P. Bowman built a mausoleum to hold the remains of his wife and children, including a life-size statue of himself, flowers in hand, walking up the steps with a grieving expression. If you drive along Route 103 in Cuttingsville, the eerie site of a ghostly white figure standing outside the door of the Laurel Glen Mausoleum with a wreath and key in one hand and a top hat in the other may momentarily startle you. However, it is merely a statue of Mr. Bowman, who along with his family, is interred within the walls of the huge stone vault.
The life-size statue of Mr. Bowman has been visible at the steps of the mausoleum since 1881, when the well to do Bowman had the vault constructed to contain the remains of his wife and two daughters. Inside the crypt is a life-size statue of his oldest daughter who passed away when she was but an infant. There are also busts of his wife and other daughter, who tragically died within a mere several months of each other. Ten years later, in 1891, Mr. Bowman passed away and was buried within the crypt, joining his family.
Strange and eerie occurrences have been reported around the mausoleum at night. The mansion across the street from the cemetery seems to be the focal point for hauntings. Locals believe that the ghosts of Bowman and his family still walk within the mansion they had once enjoyed during life. The mansion, vacant for years, was eventually purchased by new owners. The lucky (or unlucky) new homeowners have reported seeing ghosts of the Bowman family gliding through the rooms of the old mansion. In fact it is said to be so haunted that the owners will no longer stay at the house after dark.
