07/13/2026
What Kind of Marker Is That? "Treestones"
When we give tours, we are often asked about the different styles of markers scattered throughout the cemetery or the symbols that are on them. Therefore, we thought this summer we'd offer several short posts on funerary art within our grounds.
To that end, our fourth entry in these "short posts" is about "treestones" or "tree stumps" or "tree-stump stones."
Popular between 1880 and the first few decades of the 1900s, treestones were derived from the Victorian rustic movement - a common example of the style is cast-iron lawn furniture, such as benches, that look as if they were made of branches and twigs.
Treestone monuments were usually made of limestone or granite and were available from local monument dealers and/or from the Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogs; they were often adorned with ferns, lilies or other plants and flowers, anchors, crosses, and/or objects that held meaning for the person whose grave the monument marked, such as pencils, brushes, and a palette for a painter. More often than not, these "trees" are "broken" at the top, indicating a life cut short.
Another take on these "treestones" - and one probably seen more than the above - is the familiar design used by the International Order of Woodmen of the World (WOW).
Started in 1883, WOW was part fraternal organization - think Masons - and part insurance company. Members got a life insurance policy and, upon death, a headstone. The latter looked like a stump or log - a monument to be used and accepted by men of all religions, including atheists and agnostics - that symbolized not only a tree that had been cut but also the fallen woodsman himself. These markers often include an axe, a splitting maul, hammer, wedge, the Latin phrase “Dum Tacet Clamat” (“though silent, he speaks”), or “Here rests a woodsman of the world” ("resting" never "lying") inscribed on them.
By the 1910s, the benefit of each WOW member receiving a headstone became unwieldy and expensive, and the organization stopped providing them. The organization, now known as WoodmenLife, however, still thrives.
At Westview, there are many of these markers in numerous older sections. Come out and take a look for yourselves. We've never gotten a total of just how many we have.
(All markers shown were photographed within Westview by employee Christia Holloway)
, , , , , , ,
