Facts About Fort Recovery Monument Park
The current monument is the 2nd Monument in Fort Recovery.
The 1st monument was made out of wood and a natural gas line ran through it.
The 1st monument was blown down by high winds.
In 1891 the bones were taken out of Pioneer Cemetery, and put in two vaults under where the monument would be built.
President Taft signed the bill on April 15, 1910 approving the monument. The bill allowed $25,000 to be spent for the monument
The crypts were placed in the base of the monument, and the bones were put into fourteen caskets.
The dedication of the monument was July 1st, 1913.
The terrace (base) of the monument is 35 feet and 2 inches square.
The shaft of the monument is 93 feet tall.
From the foundation to the top of the monument it is 101 feet and 4 inches tall.
The west side has a frontiersman statue signifying the westward movement.
Thirty-two granite medallions are on the four sides of the base, each bearing names of officers.
Two women-citizens of Fort Recovery were chosen to write the script on the bronze tablets. Quite an honor at the time by the government.
The monument was fashioned after the Washington Monument.
An estimated 1,200 people are buried in the Monument.
There were two battles here at Fort Recovery and the people slain in these battles are buried in the base of the Monument.
The monument is in a park now called Monument Park, but was originally called Memorial Park.
Sources: Rohr, Martha, Historical Sketch of Fort Recovery, Journal Publishing Company, Fort Recovery, OH, 1932.
Historic Fort Recovery, Fort Recovery Historical Society, Inc., Journal Publishing Company, Fort Recovery, OH.
Monument Trivia
Van Swearingen is the only person with their first and last name on the monument because at the time creators thought Van Swearingen was his last name. There are two misspellings of officers’ names. Hart should be Heart, and Clark should be Clarke. Both names happen to be on the same medallion. On Memorial Day the park is deocorated with crosses to honor those that gave their lives for our freedom.