About Us

Stone Revival Historical Preservation began in 2004 as GDC Cemetery Restoration. In 2006 the name was changed to Stone Revival Cemetery Preservation and in 2009 changed finally to Stone Revival Historical Preservation. The final name change took into account our growing interest in masonry and monument preservation outside of a cemetery setting as well as the preservation and restoration of non-masonry artifacts.

In 1997 Brad Manzenberger began researching his family history. After several years of visiting his ancestors graves and finding their markers in unacceptable condition he decided it was time to learn proper techniques of restoring grave markers.

The original intent was just to take care of family graves, but what started as a hobby soon grew into a business.

In 2004, 2005, 2007 Brad attended Basic and Advanced restoration workshops hosted by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources- Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology and the Indiana Historical Society.

In 2010, Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana was the site of a National Center for Preservation Technology and Training workshop instructed by Jason Church.

Brad has also attended classes hosted by Friends of Eastern Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky instructed by Jonathan Appell in 2013.

In 2016 he attended the Preservation Workshop that was a part of the Annual Conference of the Association of Gravestone Studies in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 2017 he again attended a Jason Church led National Center for Preservation Technology and Training workshop, this time in Bardstown, KY.

In June 2017 Brad will attend the annual Conference of the Association for Gravestone Studies to be held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In addition to attending workshops, Brad had also instructed several and introduced many people to the basics of cemetery preservation.

Brad comes from a family familiar with stone masonry. His Great-Great Grandfather, John Manzenberger, came to Bedford, Indiana from Bavaria, Germany in 1887 to work in the famed limestone quarries of Lawrence County. Each of John’s sons worked in the stone industry and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Five generations of the family have had at least one person work in the stone industry in some capacity at some point in their lives.

Brad is honored to carry on the family tradition. He uses Century-old chisels that have been handed down through the family and were used by various ancestors in the quarries and mills around Bedford. Preserving history is the mission of Stone Revival Historical Preservation and preserving the family stone masonry heritage is an important part of that mission.