By Jordan Studer
CCN Reporter
GALION — Three years after T.W. Longstreth was out of the Civil War, he began a memorial business in Uptowne Galion, on January 6, 1868. One-hundred and fifty years later, Longstreth Memorials has been given the title of Galion’s Oldest Business.
To commemorate 150 years, an open house was hosted June 28 at the Galion location, complete with food, door prizes, a complete tour of the facility and demonstrations. Also, on display was an award the governor of Ohio gave the company to acknowledge the accomplishment of serving the community for 150 years.
President of Longstreth Memorials, Sean Longstreth, was quick to share the history of how the company has grown into the success it is today.
“It’s been great to carry on the legacy and that we’ve been able to grow the company,” Longstreth said. “It started with one guy 150 years ago and now we have 22 employees.”
After being released from the military, T.W. Longstreth began as an apprenticeship for a company in Mt. Gilead. Upon completing the apprenticeship, Mr. Longstreth and his wife moved to Galion where he started T.W. Longstreth Memorials. The business remained in the family and was passed on from generation to generation.
Upon T.W. Longstreth’s passing, his son, Homer, took over the business. Succeeding Homer was Murrel Longstreth, who also was the mayor of Galion in the 1970’s.
Murrel Longstreth then had two sons, Phil and Lee. During the time Phil and Lee Longstreth and were handling the business, the decision was made to buy Mansfield Monument Company and Bucyrus Monumental Works and merged them with Longstreth Memorials.
Later, the purchase of Alexander-Wilbert Vault Company in Mansfield was made and merged with the Galion location of Longstreth Memorials. The final acquisition was the purchase of Jahn Monuments of Mt. Gilead.
In 2017, Longstreth Memorials built a new location in Galion on St. Rt. 598 to combine the monument company and the vault company. Thanks to its longevity, Longstreth Memorials longevity, has built over 35,000 monuments and now service a 10-county area around Crawford County.
Current president, Sean Longstreth, T.W. Longstreth’s great-great grandson, could not be prouder of what the company has become. Longstreth explained that through all the growth, one thing remained the same — Longstreth Memorials is still a family business.
Supporting Sean Longstreth are his wife, Terri, and their son, Adam, who add their own talents to keep things running smoothly between the locations in Galion and sales offices in Bucyrus and Mansfield.
“Our mission is that we help people be remembered because everybody wants to be remembered,” Sean Longstreth said. “That’s what we are trying to do… provide memories and the celebration of life.”
For more information on the legacy of Longstreth Memorials or the craftsmanship they offer, visit their website.