214 West White Street – Monument Works of John G. Sassi / Hutchison’s Arrowhead Dairy

The Rock Hill Herald reported on Sept. 11, 1940 – “J.G. Sassi, the Rock Hill monument maker, has cleaned the monuments in Fort Mill’s Confederate Park.”

City Directories and History: 1925 – J.G. Sassi (158 Laurel Street), 1933 & 1938 – J.G. Sassi (214 W. White St.), 1936 – Rock Hill Marble and Granite Works

JOHN G. SASSI – Contributed and written by Paul M. Gettys

As it grew and developed, Rock Hill benefitted from the contributions of residents from a number of backgrounds and nationalities.  In the early twentieth century, an Italian immigrant named John G. Sassi made significant contributions as a stone carver and monument builder.  He lived and worked at the Stoneboro quarry in Lancaster County, in York, and in Rock Hill from about 1925 until his death in 1945 at the age of 102.

Sassi was born in 1843 in Ganna, Italy, in the Alps near the Swiss border.  His family included artists and art instructors, and he studied under an uncle in Milan.  Two of his cousins were well-known sculptors.  He married Livia Capponia, whose family was involved in Italian art.  We know very little about his life in Italy, but at the age of about 54 he and his wife came to America in 1897.  He worked in the marble and granite industry in Vermont for a few years before moving south to York in 1905, where he was employed by the Yorkville Memorial Works.  Soon after, he worked for some time at the granite quarry at Stoneboro in southern Lancaster County.  The owner, S. W. Heath, built the Sassis a cottage at the stone works, and he served as a stone cutter and foreman of a colony of Italian stone cutters who camped at the quarry.  While in Lancaster County, Sassi was involved in the creation of the Confederate monument which stands in front of the old

The Bleachery Building was across the street from the marble yard. Courtesy of the Allen Postcard Collection – R&R

Lancaster County Courthouse.  Some sources credit another Italian, Mr. Comi, of Charlotte with the carving of the monument, while others credit Sassi.  Dedicated in 1909, the statue was reputed to be the first granite statue carved in the South.  The granite came from the Stoneboro works, and it is believed that Sassi was responsible for the rough stone and the pedestal of the monument, even if the statue itself was done by Mr. Comi.  Shortly after, Sassi and his wife returned to York, where he worked for the Palmetto Monument Company, a successor to the Yorkville Memorial Works.

While working in York, Sassi had an important commission for the town of Cunardo, Italy for a World War I memorial.  He was selected in an international competition and designed a bronze figure of a winged Victory mounted on a base of marble.  The marble came from Vermont, and the model used for the female figure was a Winthrop student.  He returned to Italy in 1921 to attend the unveiling of the memorial, which was flanked by fountains.

The Sassi’s original Rock Hill home was on the corner of West White and Laurel Streets. The house was later converted into a filling station. Sanborn Insurance Map 1926 – 1959. Courtesy of the Galloway Map Collection

In 1925, John and Livia Sassi moved to Rock Hill, where he opened the Rock Hill Marble and Granite Works, located at 158 Laurel Street.  The Sassis lived at 241 West White Street, according to the 1933-34 City Directory.   Shortly after moving to Rock Hill, there was a fire at the home of the Sassis.  A news article stated: “Priceless paintings by early masters which were valued at $75,000 [about $ 925,000 in current money, according to The Inflation Calculator] were damaged by fire at the home of J. G. Sassi, marble works proprietor, early Wednesday.  Damage to the paintings was placed at $22,000.  The paintings had been handed down from generation to generation of the Capponi family of Florence, Italy.  Mrs. Sassi was the former Livia Capponi.”  Some of these paintings were purchased by Winthrop from the family in 1945 shortly before Mr. Sassi’s death in 1945.

While in Rock Hill, Sassi had a thriving business in designing monuments, plaques, and sculptures.  In 1929, he made and lettered the inscription on the Andrew Jackson birthplace marker erected by the D.A.R. and now located at Andrew Jackson State Park.  The granite for this marker was quarried at Stoneboro.  He also carved a monument from Stoneboro granite for his friend Gov. John G. Richards for the Liberty Hill Presbyterian Church in Kershaw County.  Sassi designed and executed many monuments and historical plaques for clients in Rock Hill.  In 1941, Sassi offered to repair tombstones at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in York County at the age of 98.  An important design by Sassi was a winged angel originally placed on a grave in Laurelwood Cemetery in Rock Hill.  This figure was later sold back to Mr. Sassi and was stored in his studio for a number of years.  After his death, this beautiful statue was sold by the Sassi estate to the Catawba Chapter of the D.A.R. and was placed at the impressive memorial to Elizabeth Jackson, the mother of President Andrew Jackson, at Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County.  The monument was dedicated on May 20, 1950.

R&R HISTORY LINK: LAURELWOOD – THE CEMETERY AND PARK

He also created the monument to Andrew Jackson found at the Andrew Jackson State Park in Lancaster County in 1929.

John and Livia Sassi are buried at Laurelwood Cemetery in Rock Hill.  The marker, which was designed by Sassi, is an unusual conical piece of granite which may have come from the Stoneboro quarry.  It was evidently prepared a number of years before his death, and states:

“J. G. Sassi and his wife Livia Capponi.  Born in the Nineteenth Century.  After a long life, died in the Twentieth Century.  Love ye one another.”

From notes of Louise Pettus: Nov. 1945, Mrs. J.G. Sassi, donated to Winthrop College, nineteen pictures and pastels including works of Albani, Moroni, Riciavelle, and Gignoux. Mr. Sassi donated to the college, four pieces of statutory including a model of the late Gov. Benj. R. Tillman. The college paid Mr. Sassi, $3,600.

The Yorkville Enquirer, reported on April 28, 1933 that Joseph G. Sassi presented the Episcopal Church of Rock Hill, a marble marker with names of rectors from 1869-1933.

Guide to Conf. Monuments in S.C. , by Robert S. Seigler, “The Anne White Chapter of the UDC, dedicated a monument to Confederate Military on May 10, 1922. The monuments base and pedestal are of silver gray Georgia marble. The original statue of the Confederate Solider was made of imported Italian marble and was 6 feet and 6 inches tall. J.G. Sassi designed the statue, he also helped sculpt the confederate monuments in Ebenezer and Lancaster, S.C. Vandalism in Confederate Park forced the UDC to move the statue in Aug. 1936 to Laurelwood Cemetery. The generosity of friends and J.G. Sassi made this move possible. Unfortunately the statue was damaged beyond repair during the move and a citizen provided $1,000. for a new statue, which was ordered from Italy. Mr. Sassi paid for the freight and supervised the erection of the statue.

The Herald, March 19, 1925, “Priceless paintings by early masters which were valued at $75,000. were damaged by fire in the home of J.G. Sassi, marble works proprietor, early Wednesday. Damage was placed at $22,000. The paintings had been handed down from generation to generation of the Capponi family of Florence, Italy. Mrs. Sassi was the former Livia Capponi.”

Sassi’s monument business was sold after his death to a Mr. Gross, who operated it until 1962, when it was sold to the Gaulden family.  Gaulden Monuments, Inc. still operates in Rock Hill at 1124 Saluda Street.

Postal map showing Rock Hill as a transportation hub on two railroads in 1896. Courtesy of the Un. of N.C. Note the area North of Rock Hill was called Old Point P.O. in 1896, the Town of Ebenezer.

An add appeared in Jan. 30, 1925 of the Herald for the Rock Hill Marble and Granite Works – Mr. J.G. Sassi announced that he has become associated with the Charlotte Marble and Granite Works and has opened a branch plant in Rock Hill. He has been in the monument business in this country for 17 years. The plant is located at 158 Laurel Street near the cemetery.

The Herald reported on Sept. 5, 1925 – “That extensive improvements are to be made by J.G. Sassi to his  home at the corner of White and Laurel streets. The house will be completely remodeled into a modern home for his family.”

Sources: Louise Pettus, “John Sassi’s Works Decorate Lancaster, Rock Hill,” The York Observer, December 11, 1988 – Andrea Deborah Van Landingham Steen, Stoneboro: An Historical Sketch, 1993 – Bob Ward, “Stature [sic] From Rock Hill Stands as a Memorial in Italian Community,” The State, December 15, 1937.

Evening Herald, January 28, 1950, “ D.A.R. Erects Marker to Jackson’s Mother.” and an Interview, Mr. Bobby Gaulden, November 2011.

The diary of Kate J. Hutchison states, Oct. 27, 1934 – “I paid Mr. (Sassey) for dad’s and mother’s monuments, $40. for my part of the monument.”

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