Silas Wright Monument, (sculpture).

Silas Wright Monument, (sculpture).

Palmer, Erastus Dow, 1817-1904, sculptor.

Young, Ammi B., 1798-1874, architect.

Silas Wright Monument, (sculpture).

Installed 1848. Completed Aug. 27, 1850.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: approx. 30 ft. x 42 in. x 42 in.; Base: approx. 42 x 92 1/2 x 92 1/2 in.

E. D. PALMER SC (Base front:) SILAS WRIGHT signed

A marble obelisk on a base of three marble blocks. On the front of the obelisk is a bas-relief bust of Silas Wright set in a circular inset.

Portrait male -- Wright, Silas -- Bust

Occupation -- Political -- Senator

Occupation -- Law -- Judge

Occupation -- Political -- Governor

Outdoor Sculpture -- Vermont -- Weybridge

Administered by Town of Weybridge, Restoration Committee, Rd 1 Quaker Village Road, Middlebury, Vermont 05753-9620

Located Cider Mill Road & Route 23, Weybridge, Vermont 05753

In 1848, a resolution was passed in Weybridge honoring Silas Wright (1795-1847) and allocating funds to erect a monument to his memory. Born in Amherst, Wright spent his youth in Weybridge and graduated from Middlebuy College. He began law practice in Canton, New York and eventually served as Brigadier General, a Congressman, a U.S. Senator, and Governor of New York, from 1845-1847. The obelisk memorial to Wright was designed by architect Ammi Young. The profile relief portrait was carved by Erastus Dow Palmer. By August 27, 1850, the monument was completed, and an estimated crowd of 4,000 to 6,000 attended the dedication ceremony. In 1965, the monument was declared a state historic site and a maker placed there.

IAS files contain excerpts from Ida Washington's "History of Weybridge Vermont." Inscription on nearby marker reads: WEYBRIDGE, VERMONT/SILAS WRIGHT/1795-1847/Born at Amherst, Mass., Silas Wright came/to Weybridge as an infant and grew up here./Graduated from Middlebury College in 1815,/he studied Law at Sandy Hill, N.Y.; began/Law practice at Canton, N.Y. in 1819, and/entered politics there. A Brigadier General/by 1824, he was State Senator, 1825-1827;/U.S. Congressman, 1827-29; Comptroller,/1829-33; U.S. Senator, 1833-44; and/Governor of New York, 1845-47. In 1844,/General Wright had declined the Democratic/Party nomination for U.S. Vice-President./The large marble monument was erected in 1848 by citizens of Weybridge/and vicinity, which General Wright always regarded as his natal place./VERMONT BOARD OF HISTORIC SITES, 1965. The circle set on top of the marker depicts a tree with an animal on the side and reads: VERMONT/FREEDOM/& UNITY.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Vermont survey 1992.

Washington, Ida, "History of Weybridge Vermont," Weybridge, VT: The Weybridge Bicentennial Committee, 1991, pg. 60-67.

Webster, J. Carson, "Erastus D. Palmer," Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1983, pg. 253.

Webster, J. Carson, "Erastus D. Palmer," Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1983, pl. 27.

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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