GREENCASTLE, INDIANA
N 39° 38.653 / W 086° 51.868
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260029.
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260029.
In southeast corner of Putnam County Courthouse Lawn.
The plaque on the front of the large rock pedestal reads:
PUTNAM COUNTY
REMEMBERS
(22 names in two columns)
AND THEIR COMRADES IN ARMS
WORLD WAR 1917-1918
DEDICATED NOV. 11, 1927
PUTNAM COUNTY
REMEMBERS
(22 names in two columns)
AND THEIR COMRADES IN ARMS
WORLD WAR 1917-1918
DEDICATED NOV. 11, 1927
According to news articles in the Greencastle Herald dated 11/12/1927 and 11/17/1927, there was some kind of delay regarding the dedication, which actually occurred on Sunday, November 20, 1927, despite the date on the plaque. A photo in the Herald purporting to depict the new statue shows it on a completely different base. Further, other articles in the same newspaper describe the base as a "massive split boulder", or "high boulder". If these reports are true, then the base was changed at some time prior to around 1948 to the current one.
Newspaper "composograph" of the statue showing totally different base.
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Old postcard showing the current base, sometime before 1948.
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Below: The announcement of the Greencastle Doughboy dedication, Sunday, November 20, 1927.
Greencastle Herald, November 19, 1927.
The sculpture is in better condition than many, but there are cracks in the inside of the lower part of the left leg. It would benefit from a good cleaning and an application of a coating that would not cause chemical damage to the metal.
Update: September 5, 2013: City commissioners have approved treatment to be done by city custodian Brian Smith at a cost of $375 to repair the split seam in the leg.
Update: September 5, 2013: City commissioners have approved treatment to be done by city custodian Brian Smith at a cost of $375 to repair the split seam in the leg.
