Wood – Very soft material. The oldest monuments in this area were wood. Monuments made of wood didn't last long.
Sandstone – Soft material. Old monuments made of sandstone sometimes have larg holes of wear.
Marble – Very old marble headstones look chalky and rough from years of exsposure to weather. Inscriptions can be hard to read due to wear.
Granite – Granite is very hard and more durable than the others.
Zink – A fade beginning in the 1870s, inexpensive monuments made of zinc.
Called "White Bronze" to make them more appealing to customers. Individual pieces ordered from a catalog and then bolted together on site.
Left exposed to the elements the monuments rapidly form a tough and very durable skin of zinc carbonate that protects the underlying metal.
The zinc carbonate is what gives the monuments their characteristic bluish gray color.
Sandstone – Soft material. Old monuments made of sandstone sometimes have larg holes of wear.
Marble – Very old marble headstones look chalky and rough from years of exsposure to weather. Inscriptions can be hard to read due to wear.
Granite – Granite is very hard and more durable than the others.
Zink – A fade beginning in the 1870s, inexpensive monuments made of zinc.
Called "White Bronze" to make them more appealing to customers. Individual pieces ordered from a catalog and then bolted together on site.
Left exposed to the elements the monuments rapidly form a tough and very durable skin of zinc carbonate that protects the underlying metal.
The zinc carbonate is what gives the monuments their characteristic bluish gray color.
Ledger – Large flat marker that covers the entire grave.
Tablet or Slab Headstones – One of the oldest ways to mark a grave. Early ones were thin rectangles, later evolved into “slice of bread” look.
Today they are wider and vary much in height and cut. Originally intended to look like the headboard of a bed.
