A local resting place that proclaims itself the most beautiful cemetery in three counties will now feature a fully functional Civil War replica cannon to greet visitors.

On Monday morning, staff at Sky-View Memorial Park, Lafayette Avenue, Hometown, unloaded a one-ton Model 1841 piece of artillery to be placed at the cemetery’s triangular entrance.

“It’s called a six-pounder gun and it would fire at 1,400 feet-per-second. The wheel is 57 inches high and the tube weighs 800 pounds,” said Steve Cameron, president, Trail Rock Ordnance of Blaine, Tennessee.

Cameron said the forged cannon, with wheels done in high quality oak, is an exact replica of a model first used during the Mexican American War.

“Originally, there were only 1,000 made.”

The cannon was unloaded by Cameron, Dan Farber, cemetery superintendent, and Ed Farber, caretaker.

Cameron arrived in Hometown at 8 a.m. Monday after a 12-hour drive. The cannon was transported on an open trailer, drawing lots of attention along the route, Cameron said.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the trip along Interstate 81, he said, was encountering steep hills of the coal regions, something he’d never seen.

“When I got off the interstate, I started going downhill at a nine percent grade. I’ve never in my life driven a nine percent grade.”

Cameron was referring to the Vulcan Hill between Mahanoy City and Barnesville.

Dan Farber said the idea for a decorative cannon to salute war veterans came from the board president.

“It was in the works for a long time. The credit goes to Bob Miller. He’s always looking for ways to honor veterans,” Farber said.

The cannon’s arrival was special for cemetery staff for a sentimental reason. Early arrangements for the unit to arrive in Hometown were handled by staffer Patti DeLay. DeLay died unexpectedly on Aug. 7.

Staffers said she would have been delighted to be part of the big day.

There are more than 3,700 veterans buried at Sky-View. Every Memorial Day, those veterans and their families are honored in a formal ceremony conducted by cemetery staff and the Quakake American Legion, a tradition for more than 60 years.

Sky-View is a nonsectarian, perpetual care resting ground begun in 1946. It was inspired and modeled after famous Forest Lawn Cemetery system of Hollywood and southern California.

A separate pet cemetery was unveiled adjacent to the main cemetery in 2008 and a scatter garden for cremains was begun in 2013.