Cemetery

Unique metal 1890’s tombstone appears new

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Usually a tombstone from the 1890’s shows a fair amount of weathering, often to the point making it hard to read. We spotted a family plot at the Rushville, Indiana East City Cemetery with a marker date of 1896 that looked nearly new.





These monuments were all custom made from 1876 to 1914. Sold as “White Bronze” they were actually made of a zinc-tin alloy. Cast in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the parts were shipped to the cemetery for assembly.  Click here for our post detailing the history of these unique monuments.

Remembering an orphanage

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The Gordon Children’s Home in Shelbyville, Indiana was finished in 1892 in order to provide a home for orphaned children in Shelby County, Indiana. At the time, the home was located on a hill on the outskirts of town.

Vintage post card showing the home

Following is a  portion of the Gordon Home’s Annual Report from 1902.

The health of the institution during the past year has been good, with three exceptions.  One of our children had inflammatory rheumatism, one lung fever and one case of typhoid.
          We desire to thank all those who assisted us in donating presents for our Christmas tree.  Our children lok forward from one year to the next and think of te happy times they will have when Old Santa comes again.
          Number of of children received in our home during the year, girls 1, boys 5.
          Number placed in homes 20, girls 8, boys 12.
          Number sent to Ft. Wayne institute for feeble minded 4.
          Removed by death 0.
          Number remaining in the home 34, girls 7, boys 27. 


In Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville you will find a simple stone monument with the inscription GORDON’S CHILDREN’S HOME and dates 1887 – 1958. Behind and in front of the stone are two lines of small headstones listing the names of children who died at the orphanage. Someone has placed small toys on several of the stones.

Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington, Indiana

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Bloomington is a vibrant college town in south central Indiana. Originally platted in 1818, the city father’s realized that a cemetery was a need, thus in 1819 a small piece of ground west of the village was laid out. To identify the grave yard the initials “G” and “Y” were carved into a large oak tree at the entrance.

Entrance marker to Rose Hill

A unique brick and stone monument. Note the entrance gate in the background

 

 

 

 

 

Note the Hand pointing up: symbol for deceased going to heaven

Monument to Civil War Vets

There were no burial records until 1897 after the eight woman Ladies Cemetery Association took over the running of the property in 1892. This civic minded group renamed the cemetery Rose Hill after the wild rose bushes scattered around the property.

 

Infantryman on CW monument. Note that vandals have knocked off the musket

Ornate multi-level family monument, has Greek and Latin lettering for Jesus

Other improvements and additions have taken place through the years. A nice fountain was moved to another park in Bloomington in 1991 after vandalism in the cemetery. A storm destroyed some planted trees in 2000. But the main reason we find this and other cemeteries interesting is the headstones. There are marvelous examples of symbolism on many of the stones in Rose Hill. Also named iconography, there are a host of symbols carved into many stones, mostly older limestone ones.

Sentimental inscription on a mother’s stone

Bloomington is about an hour south of Indianapolis. The cemetery is east of the I-69 interstate, take the 3rd Street exit. This is a 28 acre historic cemetery with origins in the early 1800’s. History buffs, take notice. This is a great old grave yard.