Monumental Bronze Company inscription, Union Grove Cemetery, Canal Winchester, Ohio. Photo by Amy Crow, taken 24 June 2008; all rights reserved.
I love zinc (aka white bronze) tombstones. I find a bit ironic that cemeteries across the country discouraged or banned the installation of them because they were seen as being tacky, but now they are the most legible tombstones.
Zinc/white bronze tombstones were manufactured by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Subsidiaries/distributors in Detroit, Chicago, and Des Moines and their work can be found across the United States. However, their years of production were very short — 1875 to 1912.
Customers could chose a variety of motifs. Panels on the sides of the marker could bear words or motifs (and sometimes both). Customization, such as the inscription, was cast in separate plates that would be screwed into a standard base.
Both of these tombstones are found in Union Grove Cemetery in Canal Winchester, Ohio. The taller tombstone for the Rager family is a more typical zinc tombstone. The Grace Courtright marker with the praying child is much more unusual. It stands approximately 2.5 feet tall. I’ve never seen another zinc marker like it. If you’ve seen another one, please leave a comment and let me know.
Rager monument, Union Grove Cemetery, Canal Winchester, Ohio. Photo by Amy Crow, taken 24 June 2008; all rights reserved.
Grace Courtright marker, Union Grove Cemetery, Canal Winchester, Ohio. Photo by Amy Crow, taken 24 June 2008; all rights reserved.
Graveyard Rabbit of Central Ohio 