Hughes Granite and Marble Co., located on East Buckeye Street in Clyde, Ohio, built monuments, markers, and mausoleums. The company is believed to have been founded by Carmi G. Sanford of Clyde. He was joined by his brother-in-law, William E. Hughes, in 1884. After Sanford's death in 1893, Hughes incorporated the company and managed it successfully until his death in 1921. The business became one of the best known granite companies in the U.S. Stone for markers was purchased directly from Scotland, New York, and New England quarries. Through salesmen, the monuments were sold all over the Midwest. Hughes conceived and perfected the proper use of ventilation in mausoleums and crypts. He organized the American Mausoleum Co. and the American Mausoleum Construction Co. The two companies constructed over one hundred mausoleums nationwide. The company employed as many as fifty-five master stone cutters, sculptors, and engineers. Ohio Civil War memorials were contracted to Hughes for Andersonville and the battlefield sites of Vicksburg, Antietam, Chickamauga and Shiloh. These were designed by the Scottish-born sculptor James B. King, who later became a partner. The company was also responsible for World War I memorials in many states. In 1919, Hughes purchased quarry interests in Montpelier, Vermont. From that time until his death in 1921, Mr. Hughes lived nearly full time in Montpelier, overseeing the actual quarrying.

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