Paying tribute since 1901.
Granite and bronze memorials for Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC families. We have stood on Centreville Road since the 1950s, and we still install nearly everything we make.
You do not need to know anything yet.
Most families arrive with no idea where to start, and that is the ordinary way of it. Bring the name of the cemetery and the location of the gravesite if you have them. If you do not have them, we will help you find them.
We will not rush you
There is no set time to buy a memorial. It is a personal decision, and some religions have their own guidance on it. We will never pressure you into deciding before you are ready.
Come and stand in front of them
We keep one of the largest outdoor monument displays in Virginia, Maryland and DC. Walk-ins are warmly welcome. Booked appointments take priority, so a call ahead gets you our full attention.
We know the local rules
Every cemetery sets its own regulations on size, material and placement. Years of working with cemeteries across VA, DC and MD mean we already know most of them, and we are kept up to date as they change.
From a single flush marker to a family mausoleum.
Individual and companion memorials, markers, crosses, obelisks and statuary, benches, columbaria, mausoleums, and the public monuments this region asks us for.
The same trade, in the same town, since 1901.
We began by the train tracks in Old Town Manassas, under a hand-painted sign reading Hottle and Kline. The door glass carried three words: Mark Every Grave. We have been on Centreville Road since the 1950s and have not moved since.
The first shop, beside the railway. The lettering on the door reads Mark Every Grave. Finished stones stood out on the pavement, which is more or less what our display yard still is.
The move to 9014 Centreville Road. New red brick, a script sign, and the first rows of monuments out on the grass where families could walk between them.
The same doors, a fuller yard. Grey, rose and mahogany granite, most of it quarried in the United States, which is still where the great majority of our stone comes from.
Much has changed in the monument trade in a hundred years. Computers, carving techniques, and granite quarried both here and abroad have altered how memorials are designed, made and installed. We have taken all of it on. What has not changed is that Kline is a small, privately owned, family-run company, and that families are treated with dignity and respect.
Choosing from a screen is harder than choosing in person.
Granite does not photograph honestly. Colour shifts, polish reads flat, and scale disappears altogether. Almost every family that comes to the yard changes their mind about something once they are standing in front of the stone.
So the display is the whole point of the place. It is one of the largest outdoor monument displays in Virginia, Maryland and DC, and you are welcome to walk it at your own pace.
We offer granite, bronze, slate, marble and natural rock. We hold a large inventory on site and have access to quarries and bronze foundries across the United States and abroad, so we can match a material to a design and to a budget rather than the other way around.
Photographed where they stand.
In cemeteries across Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. We have also installed in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Work that belongs to everybody.
In recent years Kline has held contracts with the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, with Arlington National Cemetery, and with the CIA.
The Stafford County Armed Services Memorial
Stafford County awarded us the contract for the memorial at the county government center. It is built on an incline, and it carries nine major wars from the Revolutionary War through to the War on Terror, cut into the steps as you climb. At the top there is a mural, and a globe turning on a water fountain.
A memorial of that kind usually takes about six months to construct. This one opened to the public on 15 July 2017.
Nothing is cut until you have seen the drawing.
Kline is involved at every stage, from the first conversation through to the final cleaning of the stone after it is set.
Come in, or call
Bring the name of the cemetery, the location of the gravesite, and whether the memorial is for one person or more. That determines the size and style the cemetery will permit. Bring the name of the person who died and the dates if you have them, and if you do not, we can help you get them.
We design it with you
Most memorials carry a name and two dates. Many also carry a symbol, a picture or an epitaph. Our designers work through it with you, then produce an exact drawing for your approval. Nothing goes into production before you have approved it.
We cut it
The approved drawing is used to produce a vinyl stencil of the design, and our craftsmen carve the memorial through it. The stencil comes off, the stone is cleaned, and then the rest is added by hand: shaped carving, hand cut letters, personalised etching, gold leaf, raised lettering. Every detail is checked back against the drawing.
We set it
We are licensed and insured to install in all area cemeteries, and we install the great majority of our own memorials. Every headstone is set to standard on a hand-poured concrete foundation, then checked for accuracy and for level. We treat the ground around it with care and give the stone a final clean once it is standing.
Depending on what you choose, expect three to eight months from approval of the design to installation. If you have a date in mind, tell us at the start and we will do what we can. Because of the size of our inventory we can occasionally carve and set a memorial quickly for a particular reason, but the range above is the honest one to plan around.
Mostly quarried and finished in the United States.
The vast majority of our memorials are quarried and fabricated here. We are approved dealers of both Rock of Ages premium memorials and Vermont Heirloom Quality memorials, and we buy enough granite and bronze to keep the pricing sensible on the quality we insist on.
Beyond granite we work in bronze, slate, marble and natural rock. If you have seen something in a cemetery and want to know what it is, photograph it and bring the picture in. Half the conversations here start that way.
If a stone already stands and you want a new one to match it, we will go to the cemetery, take a rubbing, measure it exactly, photograph it, and replicate it.
The things nobody tells you.
How long does it take?
Three to eight months from approval of the design to installation, depending on what you choose. We will work closely with you on timing and will expedite where we can. If there is a specific date you want it standing by, say so at the beginning and plan with the longer end of that range in mind.
The cemetery says I have to buy the memorial from them. Is that true?
No. By law, if the memorial meets the cemetery's criteria, cemeteries must allow outside vendors such as Kline. No cemetery should pressure you into buying a stone from them.
Some cemeteries do charge a fee when an outside company installs. That is permitted, and it is worth asking about early so it is not a surprise.
Why not just order from the funeral home?
Because making monuments is the only thing we do. A funeral home or a cemetery has its time divided across many other responsibilities. We can give a memorial the experience, the quality and the personal attention that a business doing it as a sideline cannot.
What is the difference between a marker, a monument, a memorial and a headstone?
They are used interchangeably for the commemorative stone on a gravesite. In practice, markers are usually flush with the ground or low to it, and the others stand upright.
Should I buy online instead?
Some online dealers are legitimate. Many are not, and their reputations are unknown. Ordering online makes you responsible for shipping, receiving and coordinating installation with the cemetery, and online sellers rarely know the local cemetery rules or install the stone themselves, which exposes you to cemetery fees.
The part that matters most: if something goes wrong with the memorial, you have no recourse. A real part of our work is correcting mistakes made by online companies that then refuse to fix them.
Can you match a stone that is already there?
Yes, for both granite and bronze. We visit the cemetery, make a rubbing of the existing stone, measure its exact dimensions and photograph it, then duplicate it.
Can you letter in another language?
Yes. We make monuments in any language you need.
What is a pre-need memorial?
A memorial purchased before the death of the person it is for. It is common, we are very experienced with it, and the process is exactly the same as it is afterwards.
Do you handle government-funded markers for veterans?
Yes. We can assist with ordering and installing government-funded headstones, markers and medallions, including the paperwork.
I do not live in Virginia, Maryland or DC. Can I still order?
Yes. We have installed monuments in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, among others. And if you live elsewhere but need a memorial for a cemetery in this area, you can order at a distance and we will send you photographs of the finished, installed stone.
How soon after a death should I buy?
That is entirely personal. There is no required time, though some religions set their own. We will never rush you. Just bear the three to eight month range in mind if there is a date that matters to you.
Ask us anything, including what it will cost.
What a memorial costs depends on the size the cemetery allows, the stone you choose, and how much carving, etching and lettering it carries. Tell us roughly what you have in mind and we will give you a real figure.
If you can, come to the yard instead. Standing between the stones for twenty minutes will tell you more than any conversation on the phone.
9014 Centreville Road
Manassas, Virginia 20110
(703) 368-5013
info@klinememorials.com
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Saturday, 9am to 1pm
Appointments recommended. Walk-ins welcome.