Middlebury to Her Soldiers is a public artwork by American artists Marshall Jones and Seward Jones, located on the triangle between Merchant's Row and South Pleasant Street in Middlebury, VT, United States of America. It was fabricated by the Jones Brothers Company of Barre, VT. The granite sculpture consists of a figure in a Civil War uniform holding a flag in his proper right arm standing atop a multi-layered granite pedestal. Figures depicting an artilleryman, a cavalryman, a marine, and an infantryman stand at the four corners of the pedestal's central section.
On the west side, the base is inscribed "Middlebury to Her Soldiers". On the east side, the base is inscribed "Donated by S.A. Ilsley Erected 1905". Neither the sculptures nor the base are signed by the artists.[1]
The sculpture is made of a light, fine grained medium Barre granite from the Jones Brothers company's quarry.[2] It measures approximately 32 feet 1 inch high, with the base measuring approximately 2 feet 8 inches x 17 feet 6 inches x 17 feet 6 inches.
The sculpture has also been referred to as the Soldier's Monument, the Civil War Monument, the Ilsley Monument, and the Spanish American Monument.[3]
Historical informationedit
The sculpture sits over a fire protection cistern which had been made obsolete after a water system had been installed in the village in 1902.[4]
Acquisitionedit
The sculpture was commissioned by Silas A. Ilsley (13 March 1840 – 9 January 1918) on 18 November 1904.[3] Ilsley had served in the New York infantry during the Civil War and moved to Middlebury in 1901 following his retirement from the tinware business in Brooklyn, NY.[5][6] He donated the monument to the town of Middlebury and the sculpture was dedicated 30 May 1905. The celebration of the dedication was reportedly attended by 7,000 people and included speeches, a parade, and fireworks.[2]
Artistedit
Marshall Jones and Seward Jones designed the sculpture which was fabricated by the Jones Brothers Company, founded in Boston, MA in 1882 and began operations in Barre, VT in 1886.[7][8] The company's granite shed, now the home of the Vermont Granite Museum, is considered significant by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and was named one of "America's Treasures" by the United States Department of the Interior.[7]
Conditionedit
This sculpture was documented as needing conservation treatment in 1992 as part of Save Outdoor Sculpture!, a campaign organized by Heritage Preservation: The National Institute of Conservation in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, specifically the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[3] Throughout the 1990s, over 7,000 volunteers cataloged and assessed the condition of over 30,000 publicly accessible statues, monuments, and sculptures installed as outdoor public art across the United States.[9] In Vermont, the survey was sponsored by the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance from 1992 to 1993 where 110 volunteers surveyed 242 sculptures dating from 1740 to 1993. The archives from the project are maintained by the Vermont Historical Society.[10]
^Zaremba, Robert E.; Jeanloz, Danielle R. (2000). Around Middlebury. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. p. 35. ISBN9780738504490.
^ ab"Dedication: Middlebury Accepts Soldier's Monument as Gift from Col. Illsley". Burlington Weekly Free Press. 1 June 1905. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^ abc"Inventories of American Paintings and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Inventory Number IAS VT000023". Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^Andres, Glen (2005). "The Village Tour". A Walking Tour of Middlebury. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^Dodge, Prentiss Cutler (1912). Encyclopedia, Vermont Biography: A Series of Authentic Biographical Sketches of the Representative Men of Vermont and Sons of Vermont in Other States. 1912. Burlington, VT: Ullery Publishing Company. pp. 234.
^"Colonel Silas A. Ilsley" (PDF). New York Times. 10 January 1918. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^ ab. The Vermont Granite Museum. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^Adams, William (1889). Gazetteer of Washington County, VT. 1783-1889. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Journal Company. pp. 143.
^. heritagepreservation.org. 2009. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^Anne Lawless (1993). . vermonthistory.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
External linksedit
Burlington Free Press article about Civil War monuments in Vermont dated 29 May 2011.
November 26, 2023
middlebury, soldiers, public, artwork, american, artists, marshall, jones, seward, jones, located, triangle, between, merchant, south, pleasant, street, middlebury, united, states, america, fabricated, jones, brothers, company, barre, granite, sculpture, consi. Middlebury to Her Soldiers is a public artwork by American artists Marshall Jones and Seward Jones located on the triangle between Merchant s Row and South Pleasant Street in Middlebury VT United States of America It was fabricated by the Jones Brothers Company of Barre VT The granite sculpture consists of a figure in a Civil War uniform holding a flag in his proper right arm standing atop a multi layered granite pedestal Figures depicting an artilleryman a cavalryman a marine and an infantryman stand at the four corners of the pedestal s central section Middlebury to Her SoldiersArtistMarshall Jones and Seward JonesYear1904 1905 1904 1905 TypegraniteLocationMiddlebury VTCoordinates44 0 49 01 N 73 10 0 4 W 44 0136139 N 73 166778 W 44 0136139 73 166778OwnerTown of Middlebury VT Contents 1 Description 2 Historical information 2 1 Acquisition 3 Artist 4 Condition 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDescription editOn the west side the base is inscribed Middlebury to Her Soldiers On the east side the base is inscribed Donated by S A Ilsley Erected 1905 Neither the sculptures nor the base are signed by the artists 1 The sculpture is made of a light fine grained medium Barre granite from the Jones Brothers company s quarry 2 It measures approximately 32 feet 1 inch high with the base measuring approximately 2 feet 8 inches x 17 feet 6 inches x 17 feet 6 inches The sculpture has also been referred to as the Soldier s Monument the Civil War Monument the Ilsley Monument and the Spanish American Monument 3 Historical information editThe sculpture sits over a fire protection cistern which had been made obsolete after a water system had been installed in the village in 1902 4 Acquisition edit The sculpture was commissioned by Silas A Ilsley 13 March 1840 9 January 1918 on 18 November 1904 3 Ilsley had served in the New York infantry during the Civil War and moved to Middlebury in 1901 following his retirement from the tinware business in Brooklyn NY 5 6 He donated the monument to the town of Middlebury and the sculpture was dedicated 30 May 1905 The celebration of the dedication was reportedly attended by 7 000 people and included speeches a parade and fireworks 2 Artist editMarshall Jones and Seward Jones designed the sculpture which was fabricated by the Jones Brothers Company founded in Boston MA in 1882 and began operations in Barre VT in 1886 7 8 The company s granite shed now the home of the Vermont Granite Museum is considered significant by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and was named one of America s Treasures by the United States Department of the Interior 7 Condition editThis sculpture was documented as needing conservation treatment in 1992 as part of Save Outdoor Sculpture a campaign organized by Heritage Preservation The National Institute of Conservation in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution specifically the Smithsonian American Art Museum 3 Throughout the 1990s over 7 000 volunteers cataloged and assessed the condition of over 30 000 publicly accessible statues monuments and sculptures installed as outdoor public art across the United States 9 In Vermont the survey was sponsored by the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance from 1992 to 1993 where 110 volunteers surveyed 242 sculptures dating from 1740 to 1993 The archives from the project are maintained by the Vermont Historical Society 10 See also editVermont in the American Civil WarReferences edit Zaremba Robert E Jeanloz Danielle R 2000 Around Middlebury Charleston S C Arcadia p 35 ISBN 9780738504490 a b Dedication Middlebury Accepts Soldier s Monument as Gift from Col Illsley Burlington Weekly Free Press 1 June 1905 Retrieved 8 September 2012 a b c Inventories of American Paintings and Sculpture Smithsonian American Art Museum Inventory Number IAS VT000023 Retrieved 8 September 2012 Andres Glen 2005 The Village Tour A Walking Tour of Middlebury Retrieved 8 September 2012 Dodge Prentiss Cutler 1912 Encyclopedia Vermont Biography A Series of Authentic Biographical Sketches of the Representative Men of Vermont and Sons of Vermont in Other States 1912 Burlington VT Ullery Publishing Company pp 234 Colonel Silas A Ilsley PDF New York Times 10 January 1918 Retrieved 8 September 2012 a b Jones Brothers Site The Vermont Granite Museum Archived from the original on 2 October 2012 Retrieved 8 September 2012 Adams William 1889 Gazetteer of Washington County VT 1783 1889 Syracuse NY Syracuse Journal Company pp 143 About SOS heritagepreservation org 2009 Archived from the original on January 8 2009 Retrieved March 25 2010 Anne Lawless 1993 Record for Doc 320 Finding Aid for Save Outdoor Sculpture Records 1992 1993 vermonthistory org Archived from the original on July 25 2011 Retrieved March 25 2010 External links editBurlington Free Press article about Civil War monuments in Vermont dated 29 May 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Middlebury to Her Soldiers amp oldid 1063008309, wikipedia, wiki, 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