The Mingo, (sculpture).

The Mingo, (sculpture).

Beu, Henry Oscar, 1855-1944, sculptor.

North Wheeling Pottery Company, fabricator.

American Bronze Company, founder.

Mull Foundry, founder.

The Mingo, (sculpture).

1928. Dedicated Jan. 21, 1928. Rededicated April 21, 1983.

Digital Reference:

Figure: bronze; Base: granite and concrete.

Figure: approx. 6 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. 6 in.; Granite base: approx. 4 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft. 3 in. x 15 ft. 10 in.; Concrete base: approx. 6 ft. x 2 ft. 6 in. x 9 ft. 11 in.

(On plinth, west side:) AM. ART BRONZE FDY./CHICAGO (On bronze plaue on front of stone base:) THE MINGO/ORIGINAL INHABITANT/OF THIS VALLEY/EXTENDS/GREETINGS AND PEACE/TO ALL WAYFARERS./PRESENTED/TO THE CITY OF WHEELING/BY/THE KIWANIS CLUB/AND/GEO. W. LUTZ./1928 (Stone base, left and right sides, around 10 in. bronze circles:) Wheeling Kiwanis Club/1918-1928 (In center of circles:) K Founder's mark appears.

A bronze statue of a Mingo Indian stands with proper right arm outstretched to welcome visitors to Wheeling. The figure wears moccasins, bead necklaces, a fringed loin cloth, feathers in his hair, and a quiver over his proper left shoulder. His proper left arm, draped with a cloth, is bent at the elbow with the hand near his chest. He has long hair and well-defined muscles. A bow rests on the plinth beside his proper right foot, which is slightly forward.

Ethnic -- Indian -- Delaware

Ethnic -- Indian -- Shawnee

Ethnic -- Indian -- Cayuga

Ethnic -- Indian -- Seneca

Ethnic -- Indian -- Mohawk

Ethnic -- Indian -- Mingo

Figure male -- Full length

Dress -- Ethnic -- Indian Dress

Object -- Weapon -- Bow and Arrow

State of Being -- Emotion -- Friendship

Outdoor Sculpture -- West Virginia -- Wheeling

Administered by City of Wheeling, City Manager, City-County Building, 1500 Chapline Street, Wheeling, West Virginia 26003

Located Wheeling Hill, U.S. 40 & Chapline Street, Wheeling, West Virginia

IAS files contain related articles from Wheeling New Register, Wheeling, West Virginia): June 22, 1928; April 24, 1960; Jan. 27, 1982; May 13, 1987; and June 4, 1989. IAS files also contain program from the rededication ceremony held on April 21, 1983. The Kiwanis Club of Wheeling, spurred by the vision of George W. Lutz, met the cost of casting and placing the Mingo. The artist, Henry Beu was an employee of North Wheeling Pottery. The statue is tribute to the Mingo, a detached band of the Iroquois Confederation which included the Delaware, Shawnee, Cayuga, Seneca, and Mohawk people. The Mingo lived in the area until the 1800s. On Jan. 29, 1982, the statue was severed at the ankles and taken from its pedestal by vandals. However, it was recovered and subsequently refurbished by the Mull Foundry. It was remounted and rededicated on April 21, 1983.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, West Virginia survey, 1992.

Wheeling News Register (Wheeling, WV), April 24, 1960.

Wheeling News Register (Wheeling, WV), April 24, 1960.

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

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