A. Fantozzi Marble and Granite Works
~ A. Fantozzi Marble Headstone Works ~
~ Jackson, Amador County, California ~
From ca1921 to 1972, Italian born Arrigo Fantozzi operated his headstone (monument) works on Church Street in Jackson, California, across from the Jackson City Cemetery. He had purchased the works from the Particelli brothers, its founders. Arrigo Fantozzi died on June 2, 1972 and is buried in the Jackson City Cemetery. There is the story that Arrigo Fantozzi picked his plot in the Jackson City Cemetery so he could keep an eye on his headstone works. His wife Katherine “Kate” Theresa (Orlandi) Fantozzi was the bookkeeper for their business. She attended St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Jackson. Katherine died on July 22, 2004 at Kit Carson Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. She was 101 years of age at the time of her death. Their home was adjacent to the headstone works; other service buildings are behind the home and works. The home and other buildings have been lovingly restored by the current owners, Mark Johnson and Kathy duBois. The headstone works are in need of serious restoration and hopefully, the owners’ next project.
We photographed the Marble works in 2008. The works were not open to the public but may be viewed from the street. We were most fortunate that the owner of the building gave us a personal tour of building. The works building, aka the barn, contains old wood, unused and scrap stone, an incredible amount of rusty tools and equipment, even some old headstones. The floor was covered with debris, it was a hazard just to walk through the interior. In the rear of the works are the flywheel, assorted wheels, leather belts, and line shafts in the overhead. By the rear wall are the tools of the blacksmith, the anvil and the forge. Arrigo Fantozzi appears in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Amador County, as a “Contractor” in the “Building” Industry. That suggests that he did much more than produce headstones.
Photo Gallery
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