More of the "Grandeur in Granite" Stringtown story

A reader asked over the weekend if I knew who had produced this magnificent tombstone located in the Stringtown Cemetery,  right along U.S. 34 in southwest Iowa's Adams County between Creston to the east and Corning on the west.

I wrote about the stone first during 2011 --- you can find that piece, entitled "Granite Grandeur at Stringtown," here --- and the question reminded me that I'd tucked away an article from The Adams County Free Press of Sept. 30, 1903, that tells more of its story:

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C. A. Shafer has completed and is erecting an especially handsome monument for the grave of the late Henry Reese in the Stringtown cemetery. It consists of three bases, the total weight of which is 38,000 (sic) pounds and the height fifteen feet. The second base is ornamented with relief work in the shape of gothic scroll leaves. On the third base rests the die with the inscription, "Henry Reese, Born May 28, 1824, Died Feb. 1, 1901, Aged 70 years, 8 ms, 3 d, in plain gothic letters. Each corner of the die is surrounded with three polished columns resting on moulded bases and surmounted with carved Corinthian caps. Above these is a large Corinthian cap on which rests a beautiful plinth with a spray of laurel leaves on one side and on the other a spray of oak leaves, with the monogram R raised in rustic letter. Above this is the statue, a figure representing Meditation. The monument is of Vermont and Massachusetts granite and the cost was $3,000. Thirty perch of rock was used in the foundation and the total weight of monument and foundation is about five tons. The monument is undoubtedly the finest in this part of the state and is a credit to Mr. Shafer.

Henry Reese was among the oldest and best known citizens of Adams county at the time of his death. He was a native of Germany and came to America when a young man. He settled in this county in 1853 and began a career of more than ordinary activity and success. At the time of his death he and his wife were the possessors of over 4,000 acres of Adams county's best land.

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C.A. Shafer, during 1903, was proprietor of the Corning Marble & Granite Works and seems to have been known widely as a source for elaborate (as well as less elaborate) monuments. But he made some major financial mistakes after 1903, declared bankruptcy in 1905, then departed first for Mount Ayr, finally for California.

Henry and Sophia Reese, both natives of Germany, were a southwest Iowa power couple during the later years of the 19th century, accumulating after their 1856 marriage some 4,300 acres of land and an estate valued near $1 million when Henry died during 1901. 

Sophia, who died July 30, 1915, and was buried by Henry's side at Stringtown, seems to have been the financier in the family --- and most likely it was she who working with Shafer designed this tombstone that more than a century later trumpets the couple's prominence to all who whiz by on Highway 34. The designs for many of the elements probably were selected from catalogs.

Granite is a challenging material to work with, so it seems likely that most of the components were crafted by a company located near the quarries where the stone was sourced, then shipped to southwest Iowa by rail to be assembled.

Whatever the case, it remains as one of southwest Iowa's grandest examples of tombstone art.