The Arctic Monument, in the Brown Family lot, circa 1875.

The Arctic Monument, standing at the center of the Brown family lot, was commissioned by James Brown (1791-1877), head of the powerful Brown Brothers banking firm, to honor those lost in the sinking of the steamship Arctic. When the Arctic went down in 1854, James Brown lost a number of family members: his son William Benedict Brown, William’s wife Clara Moulton Brown, their infant daughter Grace, his daughter Maria, his daughter Grace, and her son Herbert. Their names are carved into the front of the monument.

Sculpted by artist John Moffitt, the marble monument features at its center a likeness of the sinking Arctic. Though the ship’s mast and sails have been lost over time, the monument’s stone canopy has protected much of the ship’s detailing from the elements. Look up above the ship at the detailed carving by Moffitt.

(Lot 2134, Sec. 22)