By Parker Anderson
Burial practices and customs have long been studied worldwide, and they have often changed over the millennia. One aspect that has not been frequently focused on is the artistry in gravestones, particularly in bygone eras. Tombstone art is not as prevalent anymore, especially since cremation has now become the most preferred choice for disposing of corpses instead of a full casket burial.
In early America and in European countries, elaborate gravestones were regarded as a sign of class and affluence, designed to show cemetery visitors that the deceased was someone “important” and highly regarded.
In New England, the early-day colonists were often morbid about death and cemeteries. Massachusetts, in particular, has many gravestones carved with death's-head images or skulls with wings. Visitors to Boston graveyards today may be surprised by the many ancient markers with carved deaths-head images on them, often with the same ethereal verse: “Stop My Friend, As You Pass By; For As You Are, So Once Was I; As I Am Now, So You Will Be; Prepare For Death and Follow Me”.
In the western United States, such as Arizona, tombstone art was and is less common, but not non-existent. Early-day pioneer ranchers, miners and merchants were not wealthy, and the hard lives they lived did not allow them to think much about tributes to their deceased loved ones. They made markers out of wood, iron and whatever they could find. However, there were tombstone carvers who created custom-made stones for a price; quite a variety of tombstones can be seen, for instance, in Prescott’s Citizens Cemetery on Sheldon Street. Here you will find markers made from granite and other stone, concrete, wood and other materials. This cemetery even has one lone above-ground crypt.
Some graves have tall spire-like tombstones, signifying the “prominence” of the deceased. The grave of Arizona Senator Henry F. Ashurst in Prescott’s Mountain View Cemetery is one such local example.
Other tombstones stand out as a group due to their plainness and uniformity such as is usually the case in a Potter's Field where the indigent, the unknown, travelers, or criminals tended to be buried. Prescott Citizens Cemetery contains a potter’s field where most graves are buried in a grid pattern and marked with simple slabs of concrete.
Some organizations once buried their members with distinctive markers. The fraternal lodge Woodmen of the World once had, as one of their trademark grave markers, tombstones carved to look like cut-off tree trunks on the graves of their members, symbolizing a life cut down. These tree trunk tombstones are common in older cemeteries, even in Arizona. There is one in Prescott’s Citizens Cemetery, one in the pioneer cemetery of the town of Congress in Southern Yavapai County and others elsewhere.
Religious denominations can play a role in cemetery art as well. For example, Roman Catholic cemeteries usually have many images and small statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on their graves. Interestingly, there has never been a separate Catholic cemetery in Prescott, although other towns have them, including Cottonwood, Flagstaff and the cities in the Valley. There are local legends that Prescott once had a Catholic cemetery that was later moved or built over, but historians have found no evidence of this.
As cremation has taken over the burial process, tombstone artistry has become less and less common in modern times. However, walking around cemeteries, especially older ones, can be a fascinating experience for those with an artistic eye!
Parker Anderson will present a lecture on Tombstone Art, October 5, 2:00 p.m. at the Sharlot Hall Museum (SHM) Education Center Auditorium. For more information and registration, check the links on the SHM website events calendar at sharlothallmuseum.org/event-calendar/
Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1 The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.