Published: November 22, 2008 08:01 pm            

Cleaning and preserving metal tombstones and artifacts

Tombstones whether they were made out of stone, concrete or metal are subjected to all of the elements created by nature. Each tombstone was put on a location to honor the deceased and to notify all interested people who is buried in the plot. People who have purchased tombstones for family members or friends are hopeful the markers will last as long as possible. Tombstones dating back to before the American Revolution can be found in some of the historical cemeteries located in the northeastern parts of the United States and attest to the fact they do indeed survive for a long period of time. However, when someone decides to try to clean stones incorrectly or takes a shortcut in removing the grass by burning off the vegetation, the tombstones will suffer the consequences.

I have seen several cemeteries in Navarro County which exhibit evidence of the removal of vegetation by burning. Obviously there will be black stains on the stones especially on the base or the lower portions of the stones. A couple of years ago there was an article in an Ellis County newspaper in which the writer described the burning of two cemeteries. One couple in charge of both cemeteries decided the quickest method for removal of the grass was by burning off the grass in each cemetery. The article went on to say they got one of the volunteer fire departments to send a fire truck to each cemetery during the burning to help contain the fire within the boundary limits of the cemetery. The couple in charge related to the newspaper writer how grateful they were for the help from the volunteer fire departments and the fact it did not take very long for the fire to completely consume all of the vegetation. No one mentioned or gave thought to what happened to the tombstones during the burn. Any stone or piece of concrete will pop off spoils if the material gets hot enough. In many of the cases, only grass will be located next to a stone and it may not provide enough fuel when burned to cause pieces to pop off of the stone. However, if there is a piece of dry wood or even a dried cow patty, this may provide enough material when burned to cause pieces to pop off of the stone. While on the subject of other county cemeteries which have been burned at one time or another, there is at least one large cemetery in Freestone County which has been burned at least once. Give thought to the little family cemeteries located out in the middle of a section of woods or a pasture which has not been used for 50 or possibly over 100 years. Grass fires especially during droughts are caused by lightening strikes can do extensive damage to the tombstones.

Then along comes a group of young people who in their infinite wisdom decide to vandalize a bunch of tombstones in a cemetery. For the love of me, I just cannot understand why anyone would want to hurt tombstones for whatever reason. Better laws have been passed which allow for stronger prosecution for tombstone vandals but you have to first catch them. Typically, vandals do their thing in the middle of the night probably figuring there will be a better chance of getting away with the vandalism. I also can’t help but think another reason they do the vandalism at night is so many of their more intelligent friends don’t see them breaking the law. It is so stupid!

Then there are the people who have good intentions in their hearts about cleaning and preserving tombstones but use a method which is not only incorrect, it does permanent damage to the stones. Information is available about the proper methods to clean a stone but in reality the best thing in the long run is to just leave the stones alone. Granted, lichen and other growths will attached themselves to the tombstones and in many cases impair the reading of the lettering carved into the stone. If this is the case and someone needs the information placed on a tombstone, seek out advice about the proper cleaning methods. Some people have been involved in making rubbings of the lettering on stones without trying to remove any attached growths. I have seen several classes of school kids both locally and in the Dallas area taking field trips to cemeteries to make rubbings.

Most people do not think of any metal being used as a tombstone but this is a misconception. Here in Navarro County my cemetery partner Bruce McManus and I have seen a few examples of metal tombstones. The first ones which come to mind are a couple of markers made out of cast zinc. There must have been a company in business sometime after World War I which manufactured zinc tombstones. We don’t have any information about the company or the costs of the zinc tombstones. I will state these markers have held up very well so far because nothing like the lichen seems to grow on them. Through time, the bright zinc color has dulled to a more gray but other than this little difference, the zinc tombstones have done well. I have to think the cost for a zinc stone may have been higher than a standard tombstone because there are only a few examples.

Brass has also been used in tombstones. The government issues standard tombstones made of stone to the families of veterans when they become deceased. There are also available brass plaque military tombstones which are attached to a blank piece of stone. So far, all of these which I have seen seemed to be holding up quite well. However, through time the brass may start to develop a copper patina. Any metal object containing portions of copper will eventually start turning green. According to my good friend, J.C. Blaine, it is best to leave the green copper oxide on the object. Mr. Blaine has spent over 40 years studying and developing the best methods of preserving all types of metal artifacts found on early French and Spanish sites in North America. Many years ago, he and another avocational archeologist, R. King Harris, discovered a couple of sites in East Texas which contained metal artifacts from both French and Spanish origins. Through a tremendous amount of trial and error, Mr. Blaine developed methods to help preserve the metal artifacts for generations to come.

Next week: Cemeteries in Navarro County and what has happened to a few of them.

        

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