The Monumental Bronze Company – TODAY!

Please join us for a lecture on a fascinating company.  The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut was one of the most iconic and unique American manufacturing companies in history. The company created made to order, one of a kind, unique zinc tombstones and monuments from 1874 until 1914. During this period the huge national demand for personal and public monuments seemed endless. Bridgeport’s Monumental Bronze Company became the distinctive and exclusive purveyor of cast monuments and tombstones. Each and every one of them unique. These metal markers, monuments to famous people, citizen soldiers, public and personal funerary memorials were a remarkable tribute to American manufacturing and ingenuity. Monumental Bronze called their product white bronze and was a true American original. Their legacy, these beautiful and distinct gray-blue monuments, affectionately referred to as “zinkies” can be seen in cemeteries, public parks and squares throughout the nation.

Carolyn Ivanoff is a retired high school administrator and educator. She writes and speaks frequently on American history at local, state, and national venues. In 2003 Carolyn was named Civil War Trust’s Teacher of the Year. In 2010, 2011 and 2013 her education programs received Awards of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations. In 2016 Carolyn was honored by the Connecticut Council of Social Studies with the Bruce Fraser Friend of the Social Studies Award. In 2018-19 Carolyn served as project coordinator for the 17th Connecticut Flagpole preservation and re-dedication ceremony on Barlow’s Knoll at Gettysburg National Military Park. This project was honored with a 2019 Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations (CLHO) for preservation.