An Imposter Among Stone: White Bronze Monuments

 If you have ever noticed a monument in a cemetery that looked a lot like stone, but actually

Samuel Sheppards white
bronze monument at 
Old City Cemetery.
(courtesy of findagrave.com)

appears to be made of some type of metal, you probably have stumbled upon what is commonly referred to as a “white bronze” marker. These markers are actually not bronze at all, but an alloy of varying amounts of copper, tin, and zinc. Oftentimes, these markers tend to stand out in the cemetery because they appear in better shape, or cleaner than their stone neighbors. White bronze monuments are non-porous and resistant to corrosion and degradation over time. They don’t tarnish and many appear deceptively brand new, often with a bluish-grey color, which was a result of the finishing process. The monuments were sandblasted and finished using a process called “steam bluing” to give them their stone-like appearance. Steam bluing involves coating the monument in linseed oil and then steaming it at high pressure. 

Monumental Bronze Company 
catalog page illustrating some
common motifs that were available.
(Courtesy of The Smithsonian)

These monuments were marketed as an affordable option that would stand up to wear and tear. They were one third the price of stone or granite markers at the time. The term “White Bronze” was a marketing strategy to make the monuments more appealing to the masses. Some cemeteries banned them, possibly at the request of local granite and marble monument manufacturers. Some saw white bronze to be a cheap imitation of solid granite. Nevertheless, these monuments appear in cemeteries all over North America, from the west to the east coast, and into Canada. Each one is unique, as they were made to order. Over 500 designs were available and the purchaser chose their base, monument and attached panels from a catalog. These monuments were not sold in local stores, but were marketed and sold by sales agents. The price ranged from $10 to $5000, depending on the desired specifications. Often they will have removable panels that were bolted on using a specialized tool. This was so that new names could be added in cases where one monument represented multiple individuals. These panels continued to be manufactured until 1939, several decades after manufacturing of the monuments had come to an end.

The Monumental Bronze Company plant in 
Bridgeport, Connecticut (courtesy of A Grave 
Interest)

The technique was developed by Milo Amos Richardson in Chautauqua, New York in 1873. He attempted to establish his own manufacturing company, but in the end sold the rights to the Monumental Bronze Company. The Monumental Bronze Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut was the sole manufacturer of these monuments from 1874 to 1914. Although the original casting was done in Bridgeport, Monumental Bronze had foundries and assembly plants in Chicago, Des Moines, Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and St. Thomas, Canada.

As previously mentioned, these monuments were made of a metal alloy. They were manufactured as vertical panels that were then assembled using screws. The inside of the monument is hollow, which has lent itself to stories of bootleggers hiding contraband and alcohol in them during Prohibition. However, we couldn’t find any concrete proof to back that up. What we do know is that while these monuments are extremely sturdy, some of the heavier ones will start to sag, requiring internal supports. Quite often we also see the seams that were fused start to come apart as the monument ages or sags.

The manufacturing of white bronze monuments came to an end during World War I. The Monumental Bronze Company was taken over by the U.S. government to manufacture gun mounts and munitions for the war effort. After the war, demand for metal monuments had declined, but they continued to make the metal panels until 1939. Most of their manufacturing shifted to things such as fabricating castings for automobile parts, radio parts, and kitchen equipment. The company did not survive the Great Depression and ended up closing after filing bankruptcy in 1939.

Marie Murat Hickey's white bronze marker at 
Chestnut Street Cemetery in Apalachicola
(Courtesy of findagrave.com)

If you have never noticed any white bronze monuments in a cemetery, there are a few in the local Big Bend and Tallahassee area you can check out. In Old City Cemetery in downtown Tallahassee (where Bessie’s monument is also located) there is the white bronze monument for the grave of Samuel Allen Sheppard (d. 1897). In Chestnut Street Cemetery in Apalachicola there is the grave of Marie Murat Hickey (d. 1907). Her husband,Patrick Hickey (d. 1907) has an identical white bronze marker in nearby  Magnolia Cemetery. According to local lore, Marie cut her husband’s throat  at their home above a local store, and then cut her own throat! However, we could not find a single piece of documentary evidence to prove this story to be true. Talk about a history mystery though! If you know of any such documentation or of any other local white bronze monuments, we would love to hear from you! You can read further about these monuments by checking out the links below as well. 

Resources and more information:

Connecticuthistory.org https://connecticuthistory.org/monumental-bronze-company/

Mount Olive Cemetery, Inc. http://www.mountolivetcemeteryinc.com/stories-in-stone-blog/white-bronze-markers

Stephen F. Austin State University http://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/4687.asp

The Smithsonian (great images of Monumental Bronze Company Catalogs!) https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/whitebronzemonu00monu

A Grave Interest Blog http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2012/06/white-bronze-monument-of-quality.html