Chief Cornplanter Burial Monument, (sculpture).

Chief Cornplanter Burial Monument, (sculpture).

W. H. Fullerton Marble Works, sculptor.

Chief Cornplanter Burial Monument, (sculpture).

1866. Relocated 1964.

Sculpture: marble; Base: sandstone.

Sculpture: approx. 10 x 2 x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 1 x 4 x 4 ft.

(On front of base:) FROM W.H. FULLERTONS MARBLE WORKS (On front of monument:) GYANTWAHIA/(star)/THE CORNPLANTER/(raised lettering:) JOHN OBAIL/ALIAS/CORNPLANTER/(incised lettering:) DIED/at Cornplanter Town/Feb. 18, A.D. 1836./Aged About 100 Years/(arrow sign) (South face, incised lettering:) Chief of the Seneca/tribe and a principal/Chief of the Six Nations/from the period of the Rev-/olutionary War to the time/of his death - Distinguished/for talents, courage, eloquence/sobriety and love for his tribe/and race to whose welfare he/devoted his time, his energies, and/his means during a long and eventful life. (East face:) ERECTED/BY AUTHORITY OF THE/LEGISLATURE OF/PENNSYLVANIA/BY ACT PASSED/MAR. A.D. 1866. signed

A gravemarker for Chief Cornplanter comprised of a marble shaft and base, set on a sandstone foundation. The monument is fenced by an iron pipe fence with marble posts.

Homage -- Cornplanter, Chief

Ethnic -- Indian -- Seneca

Occupation -- Other -- Chief

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Elk Township

Administered by Riverview-Corydon Cemetery Board, Elk Township, Pennsylvania

Located Riverview-Corydon Cemetery, Elk Township, Pennsylvania

Formerly located Planter's Field, Along the Allegheny River, Warren County, Pennsylvania

The monument marks the grave of Chief Cornplanter (born John O'Bail), a Seneca Chief and principal Chief of the Six Nations from the Revolution until his death in 1836. Born to a white father, his Native-American name was Gy-ant-wa-chia (the "cornplanter"), or Gandiodieuh (the "handsome lake"). The monument cost $550 and was authorized by the Legislature of Pennsylvania in March, 1866. Originally, the marker was located in a tract of land along the Allegheny River designated as "Planter's Field." It was moved to its current site in 1964 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers when the original site became part of the flood plain for the Kinzua Dam. In 1957, the monument was repaired. IAS files contain excerpt from Philip Tome's "Pioneer Life; Or, Thirty Years A Hunter," pg. 123-131, 155-157; and correspondence of Nov. 18, 1993 from the Chief Cornplanter Council - No. 538 (Warren, PA).

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania survey, 1995.

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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