Cleaning Granite

Granite Monuments

Many of Cedar Hill Cemetery’s granite monuments have graced the grounds for over a century. Unfortunately, time has taken its toll.

Historic monuments suffer from soiling, discoloration, and organic growth caused by long-term exposure to airborne pollutants. While not uncommon for outdoor monuments, these issues take away from their beauty.

Original lot owners are deceased and their families have scattered. No one remains to care for these significant memorials.

Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation has spearheaded a project to clean granite monuments in the historic sections of the cemetery.

Treatment

Conservators, using biocides followed by a pressurized water rinse treatment, cleaned eleven granite monuments in 2022.

Monuments, of all sizes, were cleaned. They include the Beckwith, Day, Heublein, Hooker, Long, Munsill, Pope, Stedman, Twichell, Wasserbach, and Weidenmann monuments.

Monument Conservation Collaborative and Historic Gravestone Services completed the work which was generously supported by Monument Fund donors.

Additional cleaning will be undertaken in 2023.

Heublein Monument

The Heublein Monument is an exedra or curved bench. In ancient Greece, exedras were often used in public squares and were popular spots for the gathering of philosophers and teachers. They were also used in Greek burial grounds.

In American cemeteries, exedras were popular in the late 19th century up until the 1920s. The Heublein Monument is the work of New England Granite Works and dates from 1912-1914. The angel is marked “C. Conrads” for sculptor Carl Conrads.

The lot owner was Gilbert F. Heublein (1849-1937). Born in Germany, he was a prominent hotelier and restaurateur in Hartford. He was also a successful food and liquor distributor.

Monument Conservation Collaborative cleaned the Heublein Monument removing years of soil and debris.

Monument Fund

The Foundation raises funds to preserve Cedar Hill Cemetery’s historic memorials.
To learn more about our preservation activities visit our Monument Fund page.

VISIT THE MONUMENT FUND PAGE