This is Amy Wagenaar from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan History Moment. A walk in most cemeteries will bring sights of markers, shrines, and statues, usually made from marble or granite. But in some cemeteries in Michigan, the landscape is dotted with light blue gray metal monuments. Those memorials are a bit different than their stony counterparts. They are made from white bronze and were produced and sold by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and several subsidiary firms beginning in the 1870s. White Bronze is an alternate name for pure zinc, one of the elements in bronze. John Eakins of Detroit was an early sales agent for the metallic monuments and went on to establish the Detroit Bronze Company in 1881 as the first regional subsidiary of monumental bronze. At that time, the number of white bronze grave markers being erected in cemeteries throughout Michigan began to increase through the work of a number of sales agents. The primary selling points were the indestructible nature of the material and the low cost. White bronze would not wear away with wind and erosion, unlike many sandstone and marble monuments, and it would not rust, and the cost was a fraction of that for stone monuments of similar size and design. Even though white bronze was marketed as indestructible, it could be damaged by falling tree limbs, clumsy grounds work, vandalism, and structural instability. In addition to cemetery markers, Civil War memorials were a significant portion of the company's business. A prime example is the Soldiers Monument in downtown grand rapids. Erected in 1885. That shrine was a significant accomplishment of the Kent county sales agent, H. Wright Greene. Greene was one of the most energetic of the company's sales agents in Michigan, as can be witnessed in the unusual number of white bronze monuments that can be found throughout his sales territory. Ashley Cemetery in Grattan Township is the resting place of the Green family and other relatives. That cemetery is a veritable showroom of the variety of white bronze monuments then available. Although the Monumental Bronze Company and its subsidiaries have been out of business for a century now, some white bronze artifacts have turned up, such as a catalog, trade cards, and a miniature headstone once used as a salesman's sample. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.