Indiana cemeteries

Unique White Bronze cemetery monuments

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White Bronze metal monument

When you come across a blueish colored grave monument you can’t help but wonder how it has maintained its lettering and clarity of the dates. No, it is not a later replacement, it is the original zinc metal grave marker. Manufactured by the Bridgeport, CT. Bronze Company, these long lasting  but somewhat fragile monuments were custom made from 1876 until 1914.

When you tap on the surface of these monuments you can immediately tell it is metal. The seams where the individual pieces are joined are also obvious.  Each piece was cast in Bridgeport and then shipped to the cemetery for installation. Customers dealt with sales reps armed with multiple catalogues with unlimited possibilities for choice of monuments.

Name/dates of deceased and panel with “Shaking Hands”

“HOW DESOLATE OUR HOME BEREFT OF THEE”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The zinc-tin alloy used in the castings did not rust and resisted the growth of mold or algae. Each monument was custom ordered, so all are one of a kind. The designs included panels that were screwed in and could even be changed at a later date, if desired.  These were perfect for symbols like the shaking hands, sheaves of wheat or personal messages in addition to the name and dates of the deceased.

A smaller monument

Name/date still legible after nearly 140 years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The material of these was advertised as White Bronze. White Bronze doesn’t exist. These are made with a zinc-tin alloy. The company, however, felt that White Bronze is a much classier and sophisticated name than zinc. They also claimed (of course!) that their monuments would outlast any stone monument. In a way that was true, however these zinc beauties were susceptible to breakage from, for example, falling trees. In addition, very tall monuments could suffer over time from settlement of part of the bases.

This panel would have been custom ordered for the monument

The next time you are enjoying a relaxing walk through a cemetery or graveyard keep an eye out for different looking monuments. Go have a look, it just might be a one of a kind White Bronze monument that was cast in Bridgeport, Connecticut between 1876 and 1914. The photos in this post were taken in the Arlington East Cemetery  in Rush County, Indiana.

 

Have never seen tombstones like these

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It is always fun to find a different cemetery to explore. Even more so when you find very different tombstones than you normally see. This was the case at the Ross Cemetery in Decatur County, Indiana. Three stones were apparently hand inscribed in wet concrete at some late date, with names and birth/death dates. These might be replacement stones.

Hand inscribed name/dates

Two additional hand made “stones”

 

 

 

 

 

 

This cemetery also has other oddities. There are two different granite stones that serve as listings of others interned here, many are family groupings. The back side of one of these also proudly lists military veterans who are resting in this lovely country cemetery.

Lists of burials in Ross Cemetery

A listing of vets buried here

21 year old killed in action 1862

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many interesting stones at Ross Cemetery. What is fascinating is the range of size and quality of gravestones. Some are large and beautifully made. Others are simply what appear to be just rocks stuck in the ground. Family names are seen across many different stones, and dates of internments start in 1845 and according to a date on gate arches stopped in 1979.

Variety of marker size, quality clearly seen

Another view of the peaceful cemetery

Cemetery entrance gates

The historic Ross Cemetery can be found south of New Point in Decatur County, Indiana. It on the southwest corner of the intersection of E Co. Road 300 South and S Co Road 850 East. The gate is on 300 South and there is parking on the side of the road.

 

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.