Inside the Stone Shed

“This is a photo of the goings on in his stone shed. As you can see many civil war statues are under construction. He was a master artist not only as a stone carver but his ability to make molds for the larger granite statues was also passed on to one of his sons named Stanley Barnicoat, my father’s uncle. He also rented out the molds to other firms to copy. The young boy on the bottom right of the picture was my grandfather. The man standing with the suit and hat on across from him was his brother Stanley. As you can see, there was a big difference in age. My great grandfather had production books with photos of his work which he mailed to the retailers across the country. I have 2 of those books.” 

Quote from Jack Barnicoat, the great grandson of granite sculpture Fredrick Barnicoat. Both stone shed pictures are from the F. Barnicoat 1909 catalog.

Stone shed inside work area

Many things in this picture are noteworthy. All the men are wearing hats and sport a big, bushy moustache. The men in suits prefer derby hats and are most likely management or customers. All of the vertical, light color statues are models for the larger, horizontal granite sculptures we see the men working on. The models are made out of plaster and all that are male have been carved with that same big, bushy moustache!

To Stanley’s left is a model of a full size Union soldier. The two horizontal granite works-in-progress in the left foreground appear to be of that soldier. A Union sailor with cannon ramrod/swab is in the back center. The Soldiers Monument committee could have chosen either of these or many other Union military men if they wanted. Our Spanish American War statue was a conscious choice on their part.

No electricity means plenty of windows for light. The model in the back on the right is hard to see because of all that natural light. However there seems to be something running diagonally across his chest much like the bed roll on our monument’s soldier.

Compressed air pipes with valves are overhead and two men are roughing out granite sculptures using compressed air chisels. Hammers and chisels for finer finish work can be seen gathered on a work in progress on the right. Those who have worked outside and near the coast can easily relate to how cold in the winter and hot in the summer this shed must have been.

Stone shed inside work area

Stanley is on the right in the jacket and tie. To his left is a plaster model of a Union soldier. At least one if not two horizontal granite works-in-progress are in the left foreground and appear to be of that soldier.

Jack Barnicoat and Dog

See the pet dog by the boy’s side? See his front right leg and paw? The dog’s head is turned way around to his right toward the boy’s right arm and hand. He is being held for the photographer. - From The Soldiers' Monument by Michael Dow