Posted August 25, 200618 yr July 2006 marked the centennial of the Butler County Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneers Monument, which was dedicated July 4, 1906. The Butler County Commissioners held a rededication and ceremony to mark the event in coordination with the city's Fourth of July festivities. As the most recognizable symbol of Hamilton, the monument sits at the end of High Street on the banks of the Great Miami River. At 100ft, it is one of the largest monuments of its kind in the midwest. The site was once Fort Hamilton; you can read more about Ft. Hamilton and the monument's museum, etc. on the their website: http://www.butlercountyohio.org/monument UrbanOhio forumer mamapo has several excellent photos of the monument on her site, take a look: http://www.pbase.com/jpochard/hamilton_ohio From Historian Jim Blout: The Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneers Monument is at the southwest corner of High Street and South Monument Avenue, on the east bank of the Great Miami River, in downtown Hamilton. The Memorial Building was planned and promoted by Civil War veterans. It was designed by two Hamilton men, Frederich Noonan, architect, and John C. Weaver, engineer. A county levy approved Dec. 7, 1899, provided funds to build the monument, which was dedicated July 4, 1906. The 17-foot figure atop the building is a Civil War private raising his cap in celebration of victory in the four-year war (1861-1865). The 3,500-pound soldier, representing "Billy Yank," the typical Civil War private, was hoisted into place Dec. 1, 1904. An article of interest from the Journal-News: Monument Pays tribute to Women's War Service By Jim Blount June 21, 2006 Only men could vote on the issue on a countywide tax levy Dec. 7, 1899,. Women weren't entitled to vote when more than $71,000 was approved for constructing a memorial to "perpetuate the memory of the soldiers, sailors and pioneers of Butler County." The three-year levy generated $71,267.25 to build the Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument dedicated in 1906. Construction cost $71,266.73 -- leaving a 52-cent surplus in the fund.. There had been talk about building a memorial since the Civil War ended in 1865. About 4,400 Butler County men had served in the Union army or navy -- a sizable portion of the county's 35,840 residents -- men and women -- when the war started in 1861. In July 1897 the campaign for a county memorial was renewed by members of Wetzel-Compton Post, Grand Army of the Republic, a Civil War veterans organization. Within two years, the committee won the support of the City of Hamilton, and county and state government. The monument was promoted by local men. Its funding was approved by local male voters. The walls include names of men who served in the Civil War and other wars. Its crown is a statue of a male soldier. But the monument is unique among Civil War memorials because it also commemorates the service of women during the 1861-65 conflict. Two large, dominant windows -- one facing High Street, the other the Great Miami River -- honor women's contributions during the war. The window on the river side features women and children rolling bandages and preparing lint for the use of doctors on the battlefields. The High Street window depicts nurses helping a wounded soldier. War necessities opened nursing as a new profession for women. The Civil War was just beginning in August 1861 when authorities in Washington realized that men would be needed in large numbers for fighting. That month, Congress authorized women as nurses in the Union army. Within the next four years, about 3,200 women answered the call. … The ceremony... Greg Jolievette, Commissioner Jim Blout, Historian Courtney Combs, Representative President of Ohio Historical Society Unveiling of a new historical marker Inside... From the monument website: Much of the interior in this three story building is finished with highly polished tablets of Tennessee marble engraved with the names of Butler County pioneers and veterans of American wars from the Revolutionary War through the Spanish-American War of 1898. Recognize any of those? From the monument website: Hand-crafted life-size art glass windows in the Monument, commerate the contribution of women during wartime. The Army Nurses portrays a nurse caring for a Civil War soldier and Our Loyal Mothers and Sisters depicts women and children rolling bandages. From the monument website: On the temple dome is a 3,500 pound, 17 foot, bronze statue of a young Civil War soldier labeled locally as "Billy Yank". The statue, created by Rudolph Theim, a Hamilton sculptor, is waving his cap victoriously in the air while standing on an exploded shell. From www.highmainbridge.com From the monument website: Monument construction began in 1902. The official dedication took place on July 4, 1906. The massive neoclassical style monument, is 100 feet tall and forty feet square. Proudly overlooking High Street Anchoring the new High-Main Bridge At the center of the city's seal Two small concrete towers represent the fort From the Lane Public Library's historic images at www.lanepl.org: 1915 dedication of High-Main Bridge Amazing how High has changed Looking from the monument One of the few structures directly on the river to survive the 1913 flood Hamilton Core Galleries Hamilton! - Gallery 1 - Downtown http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10975.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 2 – Main Street Business District http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5108.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 3 - Dayton Lane Historic District http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5269.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 4 - Rossville Historic District http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5417.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 5 - Glorious Old Industry http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6730.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 6 - German Village Historic District http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6958.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 7 - Historic Highland Park http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7208.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 8 - Southeast Neighborhood http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7309.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 9 - Prospect Hill and Grandview http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8025.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 10 - Forest Hills and Oak Park http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8107.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 11 - Greenwood Cemetery and St. Stephen's Cemetery http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8438.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 12 - Lindenwald http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9336.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 13 - Hyde Park and Verlyn Place http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8424.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 14 – Historic Images of City Life and Atmospheres http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8668.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 15 – Art Deco etc. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8830.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 16 - The Gardens of Rossville http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9262.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 17 - The Northend and Fordson Heights http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9501.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 18 - The East Avenue Ghetto and Jefferson http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10146.0 Hamilton! - Gallery 19 - Butler County Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneers Monument http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10205.0
August 27, 200618 yr Much of the interior in this three story building is finished with highly polished tablets of Tennessee marble engraved with the names of Butler County pioneers and veterans of American wars from the Revolutionary War through the Spanish-American War of 1898. That was my experience of the Monument. Inside, one is surrounded by names...the walls are covered in names. A bit sobering, all those names of the war dead. For me that had more of an impact than a simple statue with a plaque. Ink, thanks for this thread. This is indeed one of Hamiltons treasures.
Create an account or sign in to comment