Playhouse Grave
The Playhouse Grave of Nadine Earles, Oakwood Cemetery, Lanett, AL
“Me want it now!”
Destinations | History and Monuments
Weeks before Christmas 1933, four-year-old Nadine Earles of Lanett, AL asked her father to build her a playhouse. On 18 December 1933, she died of diphtheria. Based on the inscription on her grave, she must have told her parents, “Me want it now.”
Her grief-stricken father built the unique Playhouse Grave at the town’s Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett to posthumously grant her wish. Standing at the grave, you can feel father’s guilt realizing she would not enjoy her gift in life.
I learned about the Playhouse Grave from Lamont at Large, who visits cemeteries across the country looking for unique stories from the grave. Here is his video from the Playhouse Grave. Find a Grave also has more information, including a photo album.
During my state capitol visits in the southeastern United States at the end of my 2021 Pandemic Road Trip, I discovered I would be driving through Lanett, where Earles is buried, so I decided to stop. I-85 between Atlanta, GA and Montgomery, AL runs through Lanett, which is at the Alabama-Georgia (and Eastern time) border.
Approaching the Oakwood Cemetery on 1st Street, the Playhouse Grave is right at the front and unmissable. While this grave has visitors from around the world, this is, most importantly, a hometown cemetery where Lanett’s loved ones are buried, so I visited respectfully and quietly.
Her father, Julian Earles, Sr., must have been quite the builder; I noticed that this playhouse was very well-constructed complete with an actual door and windows. Almost a century later, it’s in remarkable shape.
Inside, the playhouse has Nadine’s toys displayed, with her grave placed where a bed would have been had she lived to play in it. There is even a small mailbox in the front where visitors can leave letters.
I can see why she said, “Me want it now.” This playhouse would have been amazing for any little kid to play in, and when I looked inside, I could not help but imagine my four-year-old self playing in it.
One of the pictures included at Find a Grave shows her family and friends in front of the newly constructed playhouse for her birthday party, which I assume based on her date of birth was a few months later.
Her parents, Julian and Alma, are buried right next to the playhouse. At the time of her death, she had a younger brother, with another brother born after she died.
