Charlotte Miller Monument

Founded in 1828, the Cemetery at the University of Virginia has served as the final resting place for many of the most prominent figures of the University. Burials of those who taught or were associated with the University have continued to this day. Moss covered headstones of marble and granite rest within mature stands of old growth trees inside the cemetery’s stone wall enclosure. Long term erosion of the soil around headstones, markers and the old growth trees has put these monuments at risk. The fall of one of those trees in 2008 caused extensive damage to a number of the stones in the cemetery, including the white marble table stone of Charlotte Miller.

Working with staff from the University, the large table stone was carefully turned over onto its face onto a stable surface. The faces of the break were aligned, dowelled together with stainless steel pins set in epoxy and the fracture faces adhered with a lime-based adhesive. To provide additional support before righting the stone, two heavy gauge stainless steel angles were attached using a small quantity of stainless steel pins to the back face of the stone.

The table stone originally set on two footing blocks which were out of plumb. The bed was leveled in accordance to the existing pitch using gravel and soil. The stone was then righted and the angle irons were set level (side to side) with a slight pitch (top to bottom) to match the adjacent table stones. The face of the stone was only lightly cleaned with water to remove excessive soiling and the fractured edge was repaired with lime-based materials. Recommendations were provided for soil erosion control and monument maintenance.