Slate Tombstones

" Behold the Lamb of GOD which taketh away the Sin of the World." John 1: 29

David carving at the SC State Museum at the Fall Heritage Festival

David carves each stone completely by hand. No computers, stencils or templates. Each letter and design element is hand drawn the same way it was in the Colonial Days.

Colonial Re-enactor happy to speak & Demonstrate at your School, Group, or re-enactment

Hand Carved Slate Tombstones, Plaques Signs or Quotes

Sent by a SC Arts Commission Grant to Providence, RI to learn the Old Craft of Tombstone Lettering

Monuments can last many lifetimes. Possibly 400 years or more!

Longevity is Comparable to Granite, but with better detail, and more character

Works include the Secret Garden Stone on the Reedy River Childrens Garden near the Falls Park in the Historic West End, Greenville, SC

Also Look Soon for the Grave of the Unknown Confederate Soldier on Secession Hill in Abbeville, SC.

Up until about a hundred years ago stones were cut by hand with a chisel and mallet. By God's grace I am endevouring to bring back slate stones to our church yards.

Let me carve a stone for you that will make a bold statement and last many generations!

Slate will hold a legible inscription for centuries, usually retaining the mallet tap marks in each letter that is cut.

Slate is very impervious to weathering, that is why shingles of slate are used on court houses and very "high style" buildings.

Hand cut slate tombstones are very rarely carved in SC.

The Lord allowed me the priviledge of taking stone cutting classes by a grant from the SC Arts Commission. These classes were near Providence, Rhode Island where a few people still cut these stones by hand.

My GGGGG Grandfather Andrew McComb carved the Indian Massacre Grave stone of John C. Calhoun's grandmother around 1785. It is still located in Troy, SC over 210 years old and is very readable! I am also in the process of writing a book on Andrew McComb.

This marble stone cut in 1800 is already unreadable. It is the stone of John Rutledge (1739-1800) a signer of the U.S. Constitution.

This slate stone just up the street in Charleston, SC was cut in 1732 and is still as sharp as the day the guy cut it.

This is a picture of the "Indian Massacre Grave" Andrew
carved around 1785, Click on it for a closer look!

David carving at Richard Hager's Monticello Gardens, Near Jenkinsville, SC