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Kistenbroker, Arthur W.

Arthur W. Kistenbroker, monument company founder and president and village clerk of Harlem (Forest Park). Born October 3, 1857, Chicago, Illinois; died February 25, 1935, Forest Park, Illinois.

Arthur Kistenbroker's parents, John and Anna, were German immigrants who brought their family to Harlem in 1858 and raised cattle. Of Arthur’s twelve brothers and sisters, only three survived past infancy. After attending Chicago public schools, Arthur studied music and played the flute in Chicago orchestras.

In 1884, Kistenbroker opened a marble and granite business on DesPlaines Avenue, opposite the entrance of Forest Home Cemetery; he served as president of the company until his retirement in 1918. The excellent location adjacent to the still-new cemeteries in the area helped the business thrive, for it could easily supply burial monuments and markers. The firm also shipped monuments to cemeteries in other parts of the United States.

Kistenbroker served his hometown as the second village clerk and as five-term village president (1888, 1889, 1890, 1892 and 1900).