Iowa City’s Infamous Black Angel.

Located at one of the highest points in Iowa City, Oakland Cemetery is nearly as old as the city itself. In 1839, when Iowa City was first platted (above left), Block 10 – which was just outside the one-square-mile of land being developed – was set aside for use as a public cemetery, and then deeded to the residents of Iowa City on February 13, 1843. By 1875 (above right), two additional outlots had been given over for cemetery purposes, and by 1900 (see below), Oakland Cemetery (green on map below) – which was aptly named for the abundance of oak trees – had nearly expanded to its present size.

Many of Johnson County’s earliest pioneers are buried in Oakland Cemetery – with the few exceptions being those men and women who chose, instead, to be buried at the city’s Catholic cemetery – St. Joseph’s – which is located just north of Oakland.

Back in 1985, Iowa City historian, **Irving Weber** took an informative walk through Johnson County’s six major cemeteries – pointing out the gravestones of many well-known individuals, and you can read his full story here.

Without a doubt, the most famous – or maybe, I should use the adjective – infamous – Iowa City celebrity in Oakland Cemetery is not a deceased person, but a 9-feet-high bronze statue of an angelic being – one that just happened to turn black as it aged. Her heavenly name is unknown, so – sitting atop her 4-feet-high pedestal – she is simply called The Black Angel.

Teresa (Terezie) Karasek Dolezal Feldevert was born on October 14, 1836 in Strmilov – a town in the Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of today’s Czech Republic. A practicing physician – trained at the University of Vienna – Teresa married Dr. Frantizek Dolezal, and on March 10, 1873 had a son – Eduard (Eddie) Dolezal – who moved with her to America (1877), settling in Iowa City (circa 1880) and becoming part of the large Bohemian community here in eastern Iowa. Sadly, because of her background, (i.e. ethnic and/or sexual prejudice?), Teresa’s training and certification in medicine was not accepted here in the U.S., so she had to settle for serving her community, simply, as a midwife for the rest of her days.

Their stay in Iowa City lasted only until January 14, 1891, when Eddie – age 17 – who was working as a clerk at Boerner’s Drug Store – suddenly died of spinal meningitis. A heart-broken Teresa Dolezal buried her teen-aged son in the east half of Lot #4 in Block #9 of Oakland Cemetery – placing a “tree stump” monument (see below) over his grave.

Records are not completely clear here, but it appears that soon after the loss of her son, Eddie, in 1891, Teresa K. Dolezal married Josef Picha, before moving westward to Portland, Oregon. This second marriage must not have lasted long, because, in 1897, Teresa marries Nicholas Feldevert, an Iowa pioneer – born on February 6, 1825 – who went west, like many did, during the Gold Rush of 1849/1850. Sadly, after fourteen years of marriage, Nicholas died – at age 85 – on January 19, 1911, so Teresa made plans to bring her husband’s cremated body back to Iowa City from Oregon to be buried at Oakland Cemetery. Which brings us now to…

According to a report published in April 25, 1911 edition of The Iowa City Daily Press (below), Teresa Feldevert hired a Czech-American artist in Chicago – Mario J. Korbel – agreeing to pay him an astounding sum of $5,000 to design and craft a unique memorial statue that would honor not only her late husband, Nicholas, but also her son, Eddie, and herself when she passed.

As we mentioned earlier, the massive angel that Korbel created was cast, supposedly, in bronze, stood nine-feet tall, and was to be placed on top of a 4-foot-high memorial stone. According to historical records, the monument arrived by flat-car at the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern (BCR&N) Railway Depot in Iowa City on November 21, 1912. Interestingly, Iowa City historian, Irving Weber, reports that Rose Zetek – who lived at 704 Reno Street, near the entrance of Oakland Cemetery – recalls the monument being washed and cleaned at the BCR&N Depot (The Plug Line) before being brought to the cemetery for placement on the foundational stone. A fact we’ll come back to later in our story.

Apparently, Mrs. Feldevert wanted her new memorial to be placed at one of the highest points in the cemetery, so she purchased Lot #1 in Block #24 (see below). After the statue was erected, she had Eddie’s remains and his ‘tree stump’ monument moved from its original plot (Lot #4 – Block #9) to the new location, adding her husband Nicholas’ ashes, while making space for her remains as well. In the former location of Eddie’s original resting place, a new flat marker (see above center) was laid and it remains there until today.

Over the years **Oakland Cemetery** has expanded to 40 acres. Supported by taxpayers, the cemetery is a non-perpetual care facility, and as a public institution, anyone can be buried in Oakland, but traditionally it was a Protestant cemetery; with Catholics usually being buried in nearby St. Joseph Cemetery, and Jewish Iowa Citians buried at Agudas Achim Cemetery. Today, Oakland is adjacent to Hickory Hill Park, a large natural area in Iowa City.

Records show that Mrs. Teresa Feldevert – age 88 – passed on November 18, 1924 and, as planned, her ashes were placed alongside her family’s, beneath the large angelic figure. In truth, Teresa was one amazing lady for her day. A successful doctor, a caring mid-wife, a loving mother, and devoted wife. The memorial stone, below the statue, records, in an old Bohemian dialect, the following text that honors this important family in Iowa City history…

As the records indicate – from the very beginning, in November 1912, when the angel first arrived in Iowa City – there were issues of concern that surrounded the massive statue that was placed on the Feldevert gravesite. Iowa City historian, Irving Weber, wrote extensively about the subject, and states that Mrs. Feldevert didn’t approve of the statue that Mario J. Korbel created for her. One report says that she was so disappointed when she arrived from Oregon, that she refused to pay Korbel the remaining $2,500 she still owed him, and that it all went into court, with things not being settled for several years (1918). Another report says that the angel went into storage while the legal matters were being disputed, but reliable newspaper articles from the 1920’s indicate otherwise.

History doesn’t record a detailed list of the complaints Mrs. Feldevert had about the nine-foot-high statue, but we do know that the main problem she argued over had, apparently, shown up immediately…

As you can see from the pictures we’ve posted on this page – our nine-foot Iowa City angel, which was cast, supposedly, in bronze, and stands at one of the highest points in Oakland Cemetery – is BLACK in color! In an article (above) from the November 6, 1922 edition of The Iowa City Press-Citizen, we find that soon after its placement in the cemetery, rumors began flying around town about why and how this big bronze angel had taken on such a dark color. From what we read here, the elderly Mrs. Feldevert, who was now back in Oregon, reported that while she was fully expecting to see a golden-bronze statue, its creator insisted that black was the best color for a cemetery! Hmm. interesting point, don’t you think? But will that argument stand up in court?

Well, here’s the scientific truth. While the statue should have started out, as Mrs. Feldevert claimed, as a bronze-colored angel, over time, as bronze is exposed to the elements of heat, cold, wind and rain, it will oxidize – darkening in color, turning into shades of dark green, and many times, shades of black. But here’s the rub. According to the reports we’ve found, Korbel’s angel was black as the night sky on the day it arrived in Iowa City! And, if you remember, we mentioned earlier that there were first-hand accounts that reported such dark colorization when it was washed and cleaned at the BCR&N Depot upon its arrival in November, 1912! Which brings us now to two articles of interest from The Iowa City Press-Citizen – one (on the left) from September 1924, and the other (on the right) from March 1925…

Interestingly, in another article from May 1925, Des Moines Register writer Blanche Robertson indicates that she spoke directly with Mrs. Feldevert a few months before her death, and in broken English, Teresa indicated that the statue was not completely black upon its arrival, but that it turned dark very soon after its installation. Either way, it appears that Korbel’s angel was not well-received by its new owner! Which, begs the question – why did this statue turn black so quickly?

Today, if you look up Iowa City’s Black Angel on-line, you’ll find numerous websites that offer you a variety of stories that have long-fueled the spooky-ness surrounding the Feldevert gravesite. As one travel website states…

These explanations have done nothing to temper the Black Angel legends that have spooked generations of Iowa City school kids. People here just know that anyone who kisses the Angel will drop dead; that the Angel turns a shade blacker every Halloween to mark those that it’s killed in the past year, etc. Defacing the Angel also supposedly brings death, but that hasn’t stopped jerks with hammers and hacksaws from removing several of its fingers.

Gosh, even the City of Iowa City offers these pearls of wisdom as well…

*This beautiful artwork features Teresa Dolezal Feldevert, her son Eddie Dolezal, and Iowa City’s famed “Black Angel”. It appeared in a 1925 article in The Des Moines Register.*

Well, there you have it. The rumors, myths, and legends of Iowa City’s Black Angel. Now, when you hear the eerie tales and dark secrets, you can laugh and enjoy the fun, knowing that our angel is black, not because of evil, nor because it’s haunted, but simply because a Czech-American artist from Chicago cut some corners back in 1912, using a cheaper bronze/tin mix that turned out to age a lot faster and a lot darker than it normally should have! And, as the story goes, poor Mrs. Feldevert lost her court case, so Korbel made off with the five-grand, while, in truth, Iowa City did end up getting a very memorable landmark! So, maybe it’s all a win-win after all?

But, now that we know the TRUTH, the other options do seem a bit more entertaining, don’t you think?

Tales Of Iowa City – The Black Angel. In October 2023, we sat down with UI student Sophia R. Favorello, and we chatted about one of Iowa City’s most infamous landmarks – The Black Angel – located in Oakland Cemetery. Sophia is closing in on her BA degree in Journalism, Mass Communication, and Italian from the University of Iowa, and her short video project – Tales of Iowa City – The Black Angel, A Visual Story –is now complete and the link is posted our website. Take a peek.