(Le Beau Grave), (sculpture).

(Le Beau Grave), (sculpture).

Johnson, Johnnie, sculptor.

Johnson, Johnny Ray, sculptor.

(Le Beau Grave), (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Redwood fence, ceramic, plastic, stone, glass, metal, and fabric, painted.

Approx. 2 ft. x 4 ft. 3 in. x 5 ft.

(Cross-like structure at head of grave:) WILSON TURNER, 3YRS. 1864/LE BEAU/THREE SISTERS, JENNIE 9 LOUISE 6/(EMMA 3, GRAVE SITE IS UNKNOWN.)/CHILDREN DIED IN 3 DAYS/OF DIPHTHERIA, CIRCA 1865 (Sign on side of grave:) WILSON TURNER 3 YRS. OLD BOY. DIED IN WAGON w/3 LEBEAU/SISTERS. ALL 4 WERE BURIED c. 1/4 Mi N.W. OF THIS SPOT 1864/CLOUD-BURSTS IN 1940 WASHED OUT 2 SKELETONS SIZE OF/OLDER GIRLS OUT ON FLAT. REBURIED 1941 AT THIS SPOT (Cross at foot of grave:) LE BEAU (Aluminum plate at foot of grave, etched:) "Restoration of 3 LeBeau sisters/grave is dedicated to memory of the hundreds of men, women/& children, & the thousands/of animals that perished/on the trail to California/in circa 1846 to 1870's while/crossing Nevada" unsigned

A gravesite surrounded by a wooden fence, mounting a cross-like headpiece with an inscription. At the foot of the grave is a smaller cross with an inscribed plate. Within the fence are colorful stones, painted and initialed bricks, pilted plants, plastic toys, and other objects. The fence has colorful pieces of fabric tied to some posts and the fence is surrounded by stones.

Homage -- Le Beau, Jennie

Homage -- Le Beau, Louise

Homage -- Le Beau, Emma

Homage -- Turner, Wilson

Architecture -- Detail -- Fence

Emblem -- Cross

Outdoor Sculpture -- Nevada -- Fallon

Administered by Johnson, Johnnie & Johnny Ray, 595 Nadine Drive, Fallon, Nevada 89406

Located 9.5 miles east of Salt Well bordello on U.S. 50, Fallon, Nevada

The current sculpture replaces a cross and fence erected in the 1970s by R. M. McAlexander (which had replaced previous gravemarkers). Jennie, Louise, and Emma were the daughters of Michael and Mary Louise Le Beau, French Canadians who settled in the Elsworth area of Nye County. They and a cousin, Wilson Turner, died of diphtheria within a three day period around 1865. IAS files contain related articles from: Lahontan Valley News (Fallon, NV), Sept. 29, 1983, pg. 1; Los Angeles Times, Jan. 3, 1988, Part I, pg. 1, 14; Fallon Eagle Standard, Oct. 27, 1990, pg. 1, 11.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Nevada survey, 1994.

Fallon Eagle Standard, Oct. 27, 1990, pg. 11.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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