Afterglow Vista (also known as the McMillin Memorial Mausoleum and Afterglow Mausoleum) is a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

located in

San Juan County, Washington San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,788. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on Sa ...

, United States, near Friday Harbor and

Roche Harbor Roche Harbor is a sheltered harbor on the northwest side of San Juan Island in San Juan County, Washington, United States, and the site of a resort of the same name. Roche Harbor faces Haro Strait and the Canada–United States border. The harbor ...

. It is the final resting place of businessman John S. McMillin, his wife and children, and one of the family's employees. The design of the mausoleum incorporates numerous instances of symbolism, some of it

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

in nature.

Background and construction

Afterglow Vista serves as the final resting place of John S. McMillin and several members of his family. During his life, McMillin was a lawyer, businessman and political figure. Born in Indiana in 1855, McMillin attended

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

, where he became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

fraternity, and served as the fraternity's first Grand Consul, or international president. In 1884, McMillin moved with his wife and son from Indiana to

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

, where he became the owner of Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company. He was also an ardent

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Six years before he died, McMillin ordered for Afterglow Vista to be built. Construction was completed in 1936, the year of McMillin's death, and cost $30,000.

Design

The mausoleum is located in a wooded area, and can be accessed by following a trail through a set of gates topped with the words "Afterglow Vista". The mausoleum itself consists of an open-air rotunda with a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

table in its center. Around the table are several stone chairs for each member of the McMillin family, inside each of which are hollow niches containing the cremated ashes of the family members. Inscribed on the backs of the chairs are the corresponding names of each individual. There are numerous instances of

symbolism incorporated into the mausoleum's design. Surrounding the stone table and chairs are six

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s, along with one intentionally broken column. The broken column is meant to symbolize the concept that "death breaks the column of any man's life", or alternately, to represent the idea of unfinished work in one's life. The steps leading to the stone table and chairs represent "stages of life, orders in architecture, the human senses, and the

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

and sciences." Afterglow Vista has been called a "Masonic landmark". The mausoleum's care is monitored by the Sigma Chi fraternity's Monuments and Memorials Commission.

Interments

Afterglow Vista serves as the final resting place of John S. McMillin, his wife Louella Hiett, their sons John Hiett McMillin (born and died 1878), Fred Hiett McMillin (1880 – 1922), and Paul Hiett McMillin (1886 – 1961), and their daughter Dorothy Hiett McMillin (1894 – 1980). Additionally, the cremated ashes of Adah Beeny (also spelled Ada Beane), who served as a caretaker of the McMillin children or as John S. McMillin's personal secretary, are interred in John Hiett McMillin's crypt.

Background and construction

Design

Interments

References

Bibliography

Further reading