Monday, 05 October 2009 16:41
Last Updated on Monday, 05 October 2009 16:43
Among the discoveries of the Mount View Cemetery in Billings by Montana Fun Adventures are a couple of distinguishing monuments which beg the question, “Where did these come from and what’s their story?” Fun Adventure Tours annually conducts tours of Mount View Cemetery in October.
Marking the graves of the Bundy Family and of William F. Eilers, they tower above most other monuments and exhibit such smooth and graceful lines of unique features that they stand apart as works of art.
Intrigued, Renee Christiansen, owner of Montana Fun Adventures, investigated to find out more about the monuments. With the assistance of the Museum of the Bearthooths in Red Lodge, and the book, “They Gazed on the Bearthooths,” she discovered a fascinating story.
The headstones were made by skilled Italian artisans in Columbus, Montana. The artisans were perhaps the best in the world. Among them were Louie Corti, Pete Petosa, Anton Jacobucci, Victor Rocci, Joe Angerolt and Mike Jacobs.
How did Italian artisans come to be in Columbus, Montana? They were brought to the area to fulfill the potential of a successful industrial enterprise.
In the late 1800s, Ben Hager, “an old contractor of rock work” explored the rimrocks and determined that an area to the north of Columbus had rock of a quality for production. An article in the Billings Gazette in 1899 called it “the best sandstone in the state.” Getting the rock out required “slow, manual labor,” but established an important basic industry for early-day Columbus.
Many of the commercial structures on Main Street in Columbus are products of this stone quarry, as was the community’s grade school. Hager & Co got its big break, however, in 1899 when the state began looking for stone with which to build the Capitol Building in Helena.
Hager eventually sold the business to Mike Jacobs of Chicago, and at its peak, Montana Sandstone Co. employed 72 men and demand for its material exceeded capacity. Besides the state Capitol Building, stones from the quarry were used in building the federal buildings in Butte and Helena, the original federal building in Billings, and hotels at Forsyth and Havre, the Missoula and Havre high schools and the Masonic Temple at Missoula.
But building material was not the only product in demand and, with the skills of the Italian artisans, the company produced ornamental facades, cemetery monuments and headstones. They carved the lion heads for the Chicago Art Institute, and one of their award-winning monuments was displayed at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
Even after the quarry closed in about 1910, Pete and Henry Petosa, as the Petosa Monument Co., continued to produce monuments, for the next 30 years, from a stock pile of stones. As a consequence examples of their work can be found in some 40 cemeteries throughout the state.
Such distinctive headstones and monuments are things of the past, as most cemeteries now impose rigid constraints and uniformity upon markers. But, the early-day resting places of those who have “gone before,” are an eclectic display of art, culture and history that enriches and enlightens guests on the two-hour tours, conducted each Sunday in October, by Montana Fun Adventure. The tours begin at 2 p.m. at the administration building of Mount View Cemetery. Reservations may be made by calling (406) 254-7180. More details are available at www.montanafunadventures.com.
