American Monument& Granite Co.
(330) 325-2500
American Monument& Granite Co.
(330) 325-2500
We are a family monument shop in Ravenna, about twenty-five miles northeast of Canton, and we have worked across Stark County for more than twenty years. The granite is cut, lettered, and finished in our own shop, and we set it at the cemetery ourselves.
We work in every cemetery in Stark County, Canton’s included. A memorial is mostly decided in conversation: who they were, what the family wants to be able to read in twenty years, and what the cemetery will allow. We design from that conversation rather than from a catalog, and the stone is finished in our own shop before it goes anywhere.
Every cemetery sets its own rules, and a stone ordered without checking them can be the wrong stone. Before you choose, we ask the cemetery what it permits in your section: the size, whether an upright is allowed at all, how the foundation must be poured. Then we handle the permit, the foundation, and the setting, and the people who set it are the people who made it.
Twenty-five miles does not mean you have to visit. We can start from a phone call and send proofs to you. If you would rather see the granite colors in daylight, the showroom in Ravenna is open weekdays, with evenings and weekends by appointment, and walking in carries no obligation.
Most of what we set belongs to families, so it is shown without names. This one belongs to a veterans’ post in Massillon, just west of Canton.
The memorial in the photograph above was cut for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3124, Massillon, Ohio. A flag is etched across the whole polished face, with a battlefield cross of rifle, helmet and boots standing in front of it, and the post’s name and town cut above. The sides and the base are left rock-pitched, rough against the polish of the face, and the line along the foot reads “Remembrance Forever.”
Choosing a private headstone does not have to mean giving up the VA benefit. Read our guide to the free VA marker before you order anything: it covers the bronze medallion that can go on a private stone, who qualifies, and which parts the government pays for.
Everything else we have set in Stark County is in the gallery without names attached: uprights, slants, flat markers, benches, and the etched and hand-carved work that goes on them. It is the honest way to see the range.
West Lawn Cemetery, on 7th Street NW, is the older of the two cemeteries run by the Canton Cemetery Association, which was established in 1859; the first burial at West Lawn was in 1861. When President William McKinley was brought home in September 1901, he was laid in West Lawn’s receiving vault until the McKinley National Memorial could be built. He lies in that memorial now, next to the cemetery.
The same association runs North Lawn Cemetery on Cleveland Avenue NW, which began as a working farm. Nimishillen Creek runs through it, and the restored farmhouse is now where visitors are met. Forest Hill Cemetery, also on Cleveland Avenue NW, was founded in 1922 by two Canton brothers, Waite and Harry McClain. The hill at the back was dedicated to veterans, and a memorial tower stands on its crest.
Sunset Hills Burial Park, on Everhard Road in Belden Village, was founded in 1956, and Sunset Hills Memory Gardens followed in 1969; both go by the Sunset Hills Memory Gardens name today. West toward Massillon, Calvary Cemetery on Lincoln Way East is a Catholic cemetery of the Diocese of Youngstown, established in 1904. Massillon Cemetery, on Erie Street South, dates from 1846, and the Massillon Cemetery Building, from 1879, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each of these sets its own rules, and they are not the same rules: what size of memorial is permitted, whether an upright is allowed in a given section at all, how the foundation must be poured and by whom. We ask before you choose, not after, and we handle the permit, the foundation, and the setting. If the memorial you have in mind is not allowed where they are buried, you will hear it from us early, while it is still easy to change.
Names, locations, and dates above are from the Canton Cemetery Association, the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, the cemetery pages for Forest Hill and Sunset Hills, the Diocese of Youngstown’s cemetery office, the National Park Service, and Visit Canton, checked 2026-11-01. For a plot, a section, or what a particular cemetery permits, the cemetery office is the authority, and we are glad to make that call with you.
The standing headstone, for one name or two, or a family monument carrying several. Shape, granite color, carving, and etching are all decided with you.
Slant, bevel, and flush markers, including bronze. Some sections permit nothing taller, so it is worth asking before you set your heart on an upright.
Solid granite benches, engraved, for a family that wants somewhere to sit at the grave. They need room and a level foundation, so we check the section first.
Urn-ready stones and memorials for cremation gardens, single or companion, for families who chose cremation and still want a place to visit.
Adding a date to a stone already standing usually costs $300 to $500 before sales tax (our prices as of 2026). We also reset stones that have leaned or sunk and clean older granite and marble without harming it; the full price list is on that page.
Start with the words. Our guide to what to write on a headstone covers names, dates, epitaphs, and emblems, and granite colors explains which stone suits which kind of lettering.
Yes. We work in every cemetery in Stark County, West Lawn and North Lawn included. Tell us the cemetery and the section and we will find out what is allowed there before you choose anything.
West Lawn Cemetery on 7th Street NW and North Lawn Cemetery on Cleveland Avenue NW are both run by the Canton Cemetery Association. Forest Hill Cemetery is also on Cleveland Avenue NW, and Sunset Hills is on Everhard Road in Belden Village. Toward Massillon, Calvary Cemetery on Lincoln Way East is a Catholic cemetery of the Diocese of Youngstown, and Massillon Cemetery is on Erie Street South.
No. It is about twenty-five miles, and you do not have to make the drive to order. We can start the design from a phone call and send proofs to you. When the stone is ready, we bring it to the cemetery and set it ourselves.
Yes. Adding an inscription or a second date to a monument already set is ordinary work for us, and it is done at the cemetery rather than by moving the stone. It usually costs $300 to $500, before sales tax (our prices as of 2026).
From the day you order to the day we set the stone, most monuments take three to six months. Footers are generally poured from spring until just before winter across Portage, Summit, and Stark Counties, so the cemetery’s season matters as much as our schedule.
We do. We ask the cemetery what it permits, file what needs filing, pour or arrange the foundation to that cemetery’s requirement, and set the stone ourselves.
When you’re ready, our family is here to help yours, with patience, care, and no obligation.
Start Their Memorial →