The Davis Memorial is the biggest attraction in Hiawatha, Kansas, and one of the state's most popular sites. Sarah Davis died in 1930, leaving her husband, John Davis, of 50 years with an excessive fortune accumulated from their prosperous farm. Sarah's grave began as a simple "Davis" headstone in Mt. Hope Cemetery, but would grow in subsequent years to become an opulent memorial monument consisting of 11 life-size marble statues of the married couple. The total cost is estimated to have been anywhere between $50,000 and over $1 million . Because this was during the Depression era, many of John's neighbors grew to resent what they saw as an eccentric waste of money. Especially, when the man repeatedly ignored community requests to underwrite major public work projects. Davis reportedly replied with, "They hate me… But it's my money and I spent it the way I pleased." Today, the Davis Memorial attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, arguably turning it into a most profitable private-turned-public project.