Rowlett Creek cemetery has many intricate headstones. At your local cemetery, you may have noticed headstones that look like large tree branches or stumps. Sometimes, these are merely symbolic as they were often used for young people who had died unexpectedly. The meaning being: a life cut short.
Other times, the meaning is very specific. The Woodmen of the World were an organization that sought to make life insurance affordable for everyone. From 1890 to 1900, your life insurance policy came with a headstone – all types of tree stumps with the WOW symbol on them could be ordered. The Woodmen of the World would send your chosen design to a local stonemason upon your death. Children of Woodmen policy holders would often get a small stack of three logs. These headstones were so wildly popular that after 1900, you had to have a specific rider to get the headstone. After 1920, the headstones were discontinued entirely due to production costs.
Pictured here are two examples of Woodmen headstones that I found at the Rowlett Creek Cemetery.
