"Why would that be?", I hear you ask. It is entirely due to the headstones in the cemetery. The cemetery is not particularly old, nor are its headstones, but they are noteworthy in one important aspect, their form. In the cemetery are 31 headstones made of locally quarried sandstone and beautifully carved in the form of logs and tree trunks, quite similar to Woodmen of the World headstones. The persons responsible for the creation of the 31 headstones in question were two Italian immigrant stone carvers, Michael Jacobs and Pasqual (Pete) Petosa.
In Columbus, gravestone carving as a profession was practiced by at least two Italian stone masons, Michael Jacobs and Pasqual (Pete) Petosa. Jacobs arrived in Columbus in ca.1900 to manage the Montana Sandstone Company quarry located immediately north of town. His skills as a stone carver are evidenced in the detailing of his former residence, an ornate masonry
Renaissance Revival building he designed and erected in ca.1900.
The second known carver in Columbus was Pete Petosa, another Italian immigrant who also came to the community in ca.1900. Petosa reportedly worked at the Montana Sandstone Company after he came to Montana, but he is reported to have opened the Petosa Monument Company at a later unknown date, operating the business with a son using sandstone blocks they had stockpiled from the Columbus quarry.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
In addition to the 31 Woodmen of the World styled headstones, there are over 70 other hand carved headstones, all likely done by Jacobs and Petosa. Not as striking as the 31, they are nonetheless excellent examples of funerary art as practised by the two stone carvers.
Of the Woodmen of the World styled headstones, the two most striking are the 1903 Wimsett stone, actually exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, and the similar, but smaller and slightly less elaborate 1928 Ben Stein stone. The Wimsett stone is centered in the gallery on this page below.
Of all the carved gravestones in the Mountain View Cemetery, two of the three free-standing tree-stumps are the most elaborately designed. The earliest is the 1903 Wimsett tree-stump, a massive and ornate marker that was carved in Columbus and later exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
At about 12 feet in height with its impressive array of carvings, the Wimsett tree-stump appears overwhelming yet fragile within the cemetery. Its lower half has the stub of a broken branch around which is wrapped a rope that dangles toward the base with an anchor attached at the end. A smooth panel in the middle contains the epitaph "Gone But Not Forgotten" surrounded by intricate carvings of petaled flowers and a long ribbon.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
Mountain View Cemetery
Two variations of the log tombstone design are commonly found in the Mountain View Cemetery: monuments carved in the shape of a stack of logs piled one atop the other, and two, three, or more logs placed together on end. In both of these cases, epitaphs are usually attached to one side of the logs in the form of a large, partially unrolled scroll. In all examples the log carvings rest on top of a simple square or rectangular carved stone base.
In addition to the 31 tree-stump or log tombstones in the Mountain View Cemetery, a variety of other somewhat simpler sandstone memorials can be found. Six massive obelisks also stand in the cemetery. A total of over 100 hand-carved sandstone tombstones are scattered around the Mountain View cemetery, dating from 8 February 1900 to 17 July 1928. Taken together, they present striking evidence of how an individual's creations can significantly impact the visual appearance of a cultural landscape.
The design motifs of the non-log Mountain View Cemetery carved sandstone headstones are simpler and more traditional than the more unique log carvings. Nevertheless, as an artifact, each marker exhibits an expressed aesthetic and design which provides information about the intentions of its producer. These less ornate gravestones can be grouped into three categories, two of which are characterized by vertically-oriented, smooth-surfaced stones approximately three feet in height. The first type of gravestones are upright slabs which have an elliptical top and chamfered corners. Frequently recessed in the center of the ellipsis is a finely-detailed, semi-circular carving of a cluster of flowers, a fern leaf, ribbons with flowers, or similar allusion to some type of vegetation. Another category of gravestone resembles the shape of a bedboard, apparently making reference to eternal sleep. Eighteenth Century gravestone carvers in Plymouth County, Massachusetts regularly used this motif, perhaps transplanting the concept from England where it is thought to have originated. Headboard designs in the Mountain View Cemetery do not replicate exactly Colonial tombstones, but they make clear reference to this early design.
The final category of non-log tombstone is the obelisk form. The ancient obelisk, a symbol
of eternity, achieved popularity in upper Midwestern and Northwestern cemeteries in the late 1800s. In the Mountain View Cemetery six obelisk style gravestones - each with a smooth, polished finish - were carved during the first two decades of the 20th century, reflecting later settlement in this area of Montana. Several of the obelisks tower above the cemetery, reaching heights of thirty to forty feet.
From the NRHP Nomination Form