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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Commission awarded a contract for a carriage to set and display Long Tom, the Civil War-era siege cannon, when it is moved to its new home at Fort Boreman Park this summer.
County Parks Director Jeremy Cross appeared before the commission on Thursday after reviewing, with County Administrator Marty Seufer, four bids which came in last week for the wheeled carriage to hold and display the cannon in the park.
While getting information on the bids, Cross said a couple of the companies could not get the carriage here until July or August.
Officials wanted the cannon mounted on the carriage and ready for an in-person dedication this summer to commemorate West Virginia Day. The holiday is on Sunday, June 20, this year and will be observed on Monday, June 21.
Cross said he contacted the lowest bidder, Trail Rock Ordnance of Blaine, Tenn., which bid $25,500. He was told they could have the carriage here by the beginning of June, Cross said.
"That worked out pretty good and he said they would give us a guarantee on that," he said.
Cross also got a guarantee the cannon would fit on the carriage.
"They will build the carriage and ship it here," he said. "Our guys will put the cannon on the carriage and move it up to the park."
The commission unanimously approved awarding the contract to Trail Rock Ordnance.
"Let's tell them they got it and get this done," Seufer said.
In his research, Cross said the company does a lot of cannon work for national parks where battlefields are preserved, including Saratoga National Park.
The cannon is a four-and-a-half-inch ordnance siege rifle. It is marked as being the 70th out of a group of 113 made for the Union Army at the Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburgh, Pa., according to Cross.
The cannon was brought to Parkersburg in 1898 by the Andrew Mather Post No. 14 of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization, and placed at Fort Boreman to "'watch over and protect' the City of Parkersburg," according to a sign that sat next to the cannon in City Park.
After years at Fort Boreman it was moved to City Park in September 1921 through the efforts of the Parkersburg Kiwanis Club. Last year, the county traded its half of Bicentennial Park for the cannon, which has fallen into disrepair.
Cross said the cannon needs to be sandblasted and painted. A deal has been made where a local painters union will use its second-year students to sandblast it and the third-year students to paint it. The county has to buy the paint.
Another cannon at the park also will be sandblasted and painted.
Cross said one would be done this coming week and the other the following week.
In other business, Commission President Blair Couch said there was a need for space to conduct trials for the Wood County Circuit Court, especially trials involving murders.
Possibilities include renting larger spaces like a ballroom at a local hotel, a theater space, Parkersburg City Council Chambers and the ELITE Sports Center. Cost and availability are factors to be considered.
The Boreman Meeting Room at the Black Annex has been used for grand jury proceedings.
Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure said the Boreman Room was not big enough for trials for people to properly distance and the other precautions when trying to seat a jury.
In many cases, especially murders, there is a lot of publicity around a case and they would need over 60 people to question and review to get down to a jury of 12 impartial people who can serve.
"We want to be sure we have a fair trial for both sides," Lefebure said.
Few places could accommodate that many people, officials said. Lefebure said during murder cases there are family members on both sides who want to be in the court to watch the proceedings, which can range from five to 20 people on each side.
Having set trial dates also provides incentives for plea deals, he said. The trial date becomes a deadline to which something can be worked out, otherwise cases could continue to be delayed, which could affect witness availability, Lefebure said.
"It is better to get cases tried as quickly as possible," he said.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com