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Building Blocks: Guardians of Muskingum Park

A glance at the buildings and locations that have shaped the Mid-Ohio Valley

Photo by Art Smith The three pioneers on top of the Start Westward monument actually face east.

When Gutzon Borglum carved the Memorial to the Start Westward in the late 1930s he chose sandstone from nearby Constitution to craft the statue depicting the pioneers who landed in Marietta in 1788.

Borglum was a busy sculptor at the time as he was also directing the carving of his most famous piece, the presidents that are carved on the side of Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. That project took from 1927 to 1941 to complete.

President Franklin Roosevelt traveled to Marietta on July 8, 1938, to speak before a crowd that filled Muskingum Park to hear him dedicate the monument that also includes a plaza that stretches from Front Street to a landing on the Muskingum River, as well as four stone pillars that are on both sides on Front Street and the north and south ends of the park. The Marietta Times that evening declared 100,000 people filled the park.

“We celebrate the coming of a different type of men and women, the first battalions of that organized army of occupation which transplanted from over the Alleghenies whole little civilizations that took root and grew. They were giving expression to a genius for organized colonization, carefully planned and ordered under law,” said Roosevelt.

“But the men and women of the Ohio Company who came to Marietta came rather like the men and women of the Massachusetts Bay Company to Boston, an organized society, unafraid to meet temporary adventure, but serious in seeking permanent security for men and women and children and homes. Many of them were destined to push on; but most came intending to stay. Such people may not be the first to conquer the earth, but they will always be the last to possess it.”

Photo by Art Smith The steps that lead to the Muskingum River from the statue.

Marietta has “possessed” the works ever since. They form the centerpiece of the popular park. Age has not been kind to the pieces, particularly the main statue. Carved from the relatively soft sandstone, weather and use has slowly worn parts of the structure down.

Once a popular spot for children to climb, generations of sneakers slowly wore away at the structure. One of the pioneers on the statue even lost its head in 1961 from too much attention. Fred Mitchum of Beverly carved a replacement.

The stone pavers that surround the statue and connect the Muskingum River with Front Street show signs of wear as well. The River Trail crosses the stones just west of the statue, thousands of runners, walkers and bikers have also worn away the top of the stones where the two paths cross.

The statue marks the spot where on July 15, 1788, Gen. Arthur St. Clair was inaugurated as the first governor of the Northwest Territory.

The statue and the park around it are due to get attention soon after securing funding recently from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The funding, along with donations and add grants will set in motion a $2.5 million project to restore the monument and add improvements to the park that include lighting and restrooms.

Photo by Art Smith One of the four columns marking the end of Muskingum Park that were dedicated at the same time as the statue in 1938.

“The project centers on restoring and protecting the monument, but more than that, we want people to come and see it and also for it to be an experience for them,” he said. “When they’re in East Muskingum Park, we want them to know that they’re in a spot that is significant to history,” said Tony Durm, a member of the restoration committee.

Photo by Art Smith The three pioneers on top of the Start Westward monument actually face east.

Photo by Art Smith One of the eagles that sit atop of the columns.

Photo by Art Smith The stone path leading to the river at the point where the River Trail crosses.

Photo Provided The statue at the dedication ceremony in 1938.

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