Oscar Turner, (sculpture).

Oscar Turner, (sculpture).

Riswold, Gilbert P., b. 1881, sculptor.

American Bronze Company, founder.

Oscar Turner, (sculpture).

Installed 1915. Relocated 1970. Relocated 1994.

Digital Reference:

Bust: cast bronze; Base: granite; Fountain and arch: granite.

Bust: approx. 30 x 12 x 9 in.

(Sculpture, bronze base of bust, top:) Gilbert Riswold Sc. (Sculpture, bronze base of bust, side:) CAST BY J. BERCHEM CHICAGO (On arch above bust, raised letters:) ERECTED BY LILY TURNER ABRAMS/IN MEMORY OF HER FATHER OSCAR TURNER/WHO LOVED THE PEOPLE OF THE FIRST DISTRICT/WHOM HE REPRESENTED MANY YEARS IN CONGRESS (On front left side of arch, raised letters:) A.D. (On front right side of arch, raised numbers:) 1915. (On front of arch, below bust, incised letters:) 1825 OSCAR TURNER 1896/HE WAS BORN IN NEW ORLEANS AND MOVED TO BALLARD COUNTY, KENTUCKY IN 1843. HE WAS GRADUATED/FROM TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY IN 1847 FOR THE PRACTICE OF LAW. IN 1851 HE WAS ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE SERVING FOUR/YEARS. IN 1878 HE WAS ELECTED TO CONGRESS, RE-ELECTED IN 1880 AND AGAIN IN 1882. HE/SECURED MANY SUBSTANTIAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT INCLUDING 150,000/FOR U.S. CUSTOMS HOUSE AND POST OFFICE FOR PADUCAH AT FIFTH AND BROADWAY IN 1882. signed Founder's mark appears.

A bust of Oscar Turner, with beard and moustache, is installed under a small granite arch in the center of a circular granite fountain basin.

Portrait male -- Turner, Oscar -- Bust

Occupation -- Political -- Congressman

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kentucky -- Paducah

Administered Market House Museum, 200 Broadway, P. O. Box 12, Paducah, Kentucky 42002

Located Jefferson Street, between 25th & 26th Streets, Paducah, Kentucky

Formerly located Market House Museum, 200 Broadway, P. O. Box 12, Paducah, Kentucky 42002 1970-1995.

Formerly located Kelley, Ronald & Molly, Old Mayfield Road, Paducah, Kentucky 1994.

Formerly located Reed, David R., Jr., Old Mayfield Road, Paducah, Kentucky 1970-1994.

Formerly located Carnegie Library, 9th & Broadway, Paducah, Kentucky 1915-1970.

Oscar Turner (1825-1896), was born in New Orleans and moved to Ballard County, Kentucky in 1843. He graduated from Transylvania University with a degree in law. In 1851 he was elected Commonwealth Attorney; in 1867 he was elected to the State Senate; in 1878 he was elected to Congress and was re-elected in 1880 and 1882. Among the appropriations he secured for the First District were $150,000 for the U.S. Customs House and Post Office for Paducah.

The bust and fountain were donated to the Carnegie Library through the estate of Oscar Turner's daughter Lily Turner Abrams. Originally there were goldfish in the fountain basin and a drinking fountain bubbled constantly in front of the bust. The bust and fountain were located in front of the Carnegie Library until 1970 when the building was raised following a fire. The fountain was then dismantled and the bust was put on display at the Market House Museum. The fountain stones were moved to the property of Judge David R. Reed, Jr. where they were installed along the driveway. In 1994, Dr. Ronald L. Kelley bought the property and he and his wife Molly donated the stones to the city of Paducah. The fountain was reassembled in 1994, through the efforts of H. Eugene Katterjohn, Jr., Gus E. Hank, III, and Walter L. Beasley, Jr., and later the bust was reinstalled under the arch.

IAS image files include a photo of the bust on display at the Market House Museum and a photo of the stone memorial before it was dismantled for storage. IAS files contain articles from the Paducah Sun-Democrat, July 24, 1956, pg. 10-B and June 4, 1994, a brief biography of Oscar Turner, and a photocopy of the bust and fountain in their original location in front of the Carnegie Library.

New granite marker in front of the new memorial reads: THIS MEMORIAL STOOD IN FRONT OF THE CARNEGIE/LIBRARY AT 9TH & BROADWAY FROM 1915 TO 1970/WHEN THE BUILDING WAS RAZED FOLLOWING A FIRE./THIS MEMORIAL WAS DISMANTLED AND STORED ON THE/PROPERTY OF JUDGE DAVID R. REED, JR. LATER/DR. RONALD L. KELLEY OWNED THE PROPERTY AND IN/1994 HE AND HIS WIFE, MOLLY, DONATED THESE/STONES TO THE CITY OF PADUCAH TO PRESERVE A/PART OF OUR HERITAGE. THIS MEMORIAL WAS/RE-ASSEMBLED HERE IN 1994 THROUGH THE EFFORTS/OF H. EUGENE KATTERJOHN, JR., GUS E. HANK III/AND WALTER L. BEASLEY, JR.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kentucky survey, 1995.

SOS Assessment Award, 2000.

Paducah Sun-Democrat, July 24, 1956, pg. 10-B.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System