Not Your Typical Tourist Attraction.....Like a Museum

Staycation Continued.........Alternate Title .........Birthday Weekend

This post is about as far from a fitness post as I could get other than the fact that I was walking around the cemetery. I found out about this cemetery just a week or so ago when I was looking something else up on line and made it a point to go soon.  Now I have been looking up more of the history and won't mind going back some day to see some of what I missed. The cemetery covers 65 acres and I know I missed some.  It winds around and it is hard to know where you have been.  It is in Barre Vermont - the Granite Capital of the World - one third of all memorials in the US come from Barre.
 Here is some of the history.  



History:
Each year visitors from all over the world tour Hope cemetery in Barre, Vermont to see some of the finest examples of memorial design and granite craftsmanship ever produced.
Situated in the "Granite Capital of the World" Hope cemetery presents a rich and distinguished history of memorial art in stone, one of the oldest expressions of American Culture. For these reasons, Hope exerts a profound influence on the memorial art of other cemeteries throughout the country.
Hope cemetery was established in 1895.
Cemeteries are judged on their attractiveness to the community, their ease of maintenance and the opportunities they provide for families to memorialize and honor life. Hope Cemetery has achieved outstanding success in fulfilling these standards.  Many of these were made by Italian artisans who settled in the area.
 I was wondering if some of these gravestones were more modern and they appeared to be. I found the following information once home.

It is still possible for ornate and unusual tombstones to be put into Hope Cemetery. These large memorials can range in cost from US$20,000 - 30,000+. Simple headstones cost about $2,000.^[

This is one of the first ones I saw.

Cut from a single piece of granite by the brother of the deceased. Outstanding hand carved life size figure. Notice the detail of the clothing, the tools of the granite trade. Background is shell rock finish.

Very ornate.

 Brusa's own grave features a strange sculpture of "The Dying Man," slipping away, held by his wife. Brusa passed away in 1937 to a common stone carver's ailment, silicosis, from a lifetime of breathing in airborne stone particles. Ventilation equipment added to the stone carving buildings in the mid-1930s help to elimintate the hazard.

 A race car driver who died young.

A pilot.

Detail of artwork on the gravestone of a well driller.

A guitar.

Each of these links has the name of a child.  All one piece.

A cello

Gravestone of a 13-year-old soccer enthusiast.

Gravestones of a husband and wife.

One of many benches.

I loved this one.

A racing car.

This couple looked so sweet.

Walking down the aisle of a church.

A pool table.

I would like to know the story behind this one.

The family tree.

A husband and wife looking off toward the mountains.

There were lots of these stumps.  Not very attractive but

must have had some meaning.

Man playing a violin.

The parents- very realistic with family below.

This is a bed.  Very unique.  She must have been a war bride.

He outlived her by many years.

Just some general views of the cemetery.

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