History of Muskogee Marble & Granite  1912-2012

In 1912 The Gifford Brothers, Walter and Joe started a new venture in the monument business. The new plant and retail operation was located in the northeastern outskirts of Muskogee. 

In those early days the quarries delivered granite by rail. The large blocks of granite were cut to size and polished. The new monuments were then lettered by hand using a hammer and chisel. Gifford Monument Co. expanded to several retail outlets in northeastern Oklahoma. 

In 1936 Joe Gifford left the partnership and moved to Ada to start his own company. Walter continued on with his business until 1943 when he sold to Max Kelly. Max operated the monument company as Kelly Monument Co. Max was content operating the company, focusing on retail sales in Muskogee and the surrounding area.

In 1973 Max sold the company to the current owner Weldon Key. Weldon chose to grow and expand his operations outside the Muskogee area. In 1999 Weldon was forced to move the company because of the widening of North York Street, which took part of the building. For the next 6 years the plant was operated at a location adjacent to the Arkansas River north of town. In 2005 Weldon completed construction of a state of the art facility one block north of the original 1912 company site and in 2011 Weldon welcomed Patrick Cale to be his partner.

Today the company operates under the name Muskogee Marble and Granite with subsidiaries using the names of Gifford Monument and Kelly Monument Company.