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One of the most peculiar monuments in Springfield today is the Barney Mausoleum, located on the western edge of Forest Park. It was built by Everett Barney, the inventor of the clamp-on ice skate. His invention soon made a fortune. In the 1890s he gave his vast estate to the city, and that land is now the city’s largest park. When Ted was a boy he must have been fascinated with the mausoleum since its curved stairways are used in his book, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.