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/monumentUrbanOhio forumer mamapo has several excellent photos of the monument on her site, take a look:
http://www.pbase.com/jpochard/hamilton_ohioFrom 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 GalleriesHamilton! - Gallery 1 - Downtown http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10975.0Hamilton! - Gallery 2 – Main Street Business Districthttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5108.0Hamilton! - Gallery 3 - Dayton Lane Historic Districthttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5269.0Hamilton! - Gallery 4 - Rossville Historic Districthttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5417.0Hamilton! - Gallery 5 - Glorious Old Industryhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6730.0Hamilton! - Gallery 6 - German Village Historic Districthttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6958.0Hamilton! - Gallery 7 - Historic Highland Parkhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7208.0Hamilton! - Gallery 8 - Southeast Neighborhoodhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7309.0Hamilton! - Gallery 9 - Prospect Hill and Grandviewhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8025.0Hamilton! - Gallery 10 - Forest Hills and Oak Parkhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8107.0Hamilton! - Gallery 11 - Greenwood Cemetery and St. Stephen's Cemeteryhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8438.0Hamilton! - Gallery 12 - Lindenwaldhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9336.0Hamilton! - Gallery 13 - Hyde Park and Verlyn Placehttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8424.0Hamilton! - Gallery 14 – Historic Images of City Life and Atmosphereshttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8668.0Hamilton! - Gallery 15 – Art Deco etc. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=8830.0Hamilton! - Gallery 16 - The Gardens of Rossvillehttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9262.0Hamilton! - Gallery 17 - The Northend and Fordson Heightshttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9501.0Hamilton! - Gallery 18 - The East Avenue Ghetto and Jeffersonhttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10146.0Hamilton! - Gallery 19 - Butler County Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneers Monumenthttp://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10205.0
