Captain Nathan Hale Monument, (sculpture).

Captain Nathan Hale Monument, (sculpture).

Austin, Henry, 1804-1891, architect.

Willard, Solomon, 1783-1861, contractor.

Captain Nathan Hale Monument, (sculpture).

Hale Monument, (sculpture)

Approx. H. 45 ft. (125 tons)

(On face of obelisk:) CAPTAIN/NATHAN HALE/176 (North face:) Born at Coventry/June 6, 1755 (South face:) Died at New York/Sept. 22, 1776 (West face:) I only regret/that I have but one life/to lose/for my country.

An 45-foot obelisk consisting of a base, die and shaft constructed of Quincy, Massachusetts granite. Each face of the monument is embellished with a row of three wreaths under a low gabled pediment. The tympanum bears a feroher (an Egyptian symbolic decoration in the form of a disc with a pair of long, horizontal wings). The base of the monument rises in four tiered stages. Riser steps lead up to the monument.

Homage -- Hale, Nathan

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Coventry

Administered by State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, 165 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106

Located Nathan Hale (Town) Cemetery, 120 Lake Street, Near Lake Street entrance, Coventry, Connecticut 06238

This early commemorative memorial honors Nathan Hale (1755-1776), a Revolutionary War hero and Coventry native. The memorial was designed by Connecticut architect Henry Austin and erected by Solomon Willard, owner of the granite quarries at Quincy, Massachusetts. The monument was controversial when first erected, as monuments were seen by some as decadent and anti-republican or as symbols of European aristocracy or of religion. The Hale Monument Association, formed in November 1837, was unsuccessful in seeking US Congressional funds. In May 1846, the State of Connecticut provided $1,000 and in May 1847, $250.00 more for the monument. Total cost of the monument (including transportation charges) came to $3,733.93. Private subscriptions, fairs, tea-parties and the "exhibition of a Drama illustrating the fate of Capt. Hale," made up the difference from state funding.

In 1893, as cited in the Special Acts and Resolutions Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut at the January session, an act was approved on April 19, 1893 which directed the Commission on the Nathan Hale monument to repair and restore the monument and approved an appropriation of $2,500 to pay for the work. W. N. Flynt Granite Co., of Monson, Massachusetts, put in a new base foundation and constructed the surrounding granite walls, curbing and steps leading up to the monument. Thereafter, care for the monument fell to the Connecticut State Comptroller until 1923, when it was transferred to the State Park & Forest Commission (by Chapter 159 of Public Acts Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut in the year 1923). The monument is now administered by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

IAS files contain copy of National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for this monument, which includes an extensive bibliography, site drawings, and early postcard view. For further reading see also, The Hartford Courant, Sept. 10, 1997, A13; The (Willimantic) Chronicle, May 31, 1997, p. 8; and The Hartford Courant, Feb. 18, 1995, B1.

State of Connecticut Historical Commission, 2003.

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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