McKinley Monument, (sculpture).

McKinley Monument, (sculpture).

Lukeman, Augustus, 1871-1935, sculptor.

Jno. Williams, Inc., founder.

McKinley Monument, (sculpture).

William McKinley Monument, (sculpture).

1909. Dedicated Sept. 17, 1910.

Digital Reference:

Bronze on a granite base.

Figure: approx. H. 8 ft. 4 in. x W. 3 ft.; Base: approx. H. 9 ft. 8 in. x W. 10 ft. 6 in.

(Proper right side:) AVGVSTVS LVKEMAN (Proper left side:) JNO. WILLIAMS INC. BRONZE FOUNDRY N.Y. (Base front:) TO THE MEMORY OF William McKinley/BORN JAN. 29TH, 1843/DIED SEPT 14TH, 1901/SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE UNION/REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS/GOVERNOR OF OHIO/PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES/STATESMAN, PATRIOT, MARTYR/A CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN/WHOSE SUBLIME FAITH IN HIS LAST MOMENTS/WAS A CROWNING GLORY OF A VIRTUOUS LIFE/THIS MONUMENT IS A TRIBUTE BY THE/CITIZENS OF DAYTON/AND THE CHILDREN OF ITS SCHOOLS/"Nearer My God To Thee"/DONATED BY THE DAYTON ROTARY CLUB signed Founder's mark appears.

Standing figure of William McKinley wearing a long overcoat with gloves hanging from his proper left pocket. His proper left hand is raised. His proper right hand rests on the American flag which is draped over banded arrows. The figure is set on a square base made of five layers of stone.

Portrait male -- McKinley, William -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- President

Object -- Other -- Flag

Outdoor Sculpture -- Ohio -- Dayton

Administered by City of Dayton, Recreation and Parks, 2013 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45417

Located Cooper Park, Patterson Boulevard between East Second and East Third Streets, Dayton, Ohio

See IAS files for additional newspaper citations and clippings. The idea for the sculpture, Dayton's first public statue for an individual, originated in 1902. 11,000 school children and citizens of Dayton donated pennies to build the monument in Cooper Park, also known as Library Park. The monument cost $4,000. Each donor's signed envelope was preserved and sealed in a copper box and placed with other time capsule materials in the stone base. The monument was originally sited further south in Cooper Park. During the Dayton & Montgomery County Public Library's expansion in 1960-1961, the sculpture was stored on site and later moved to its present location in 1962. In the early 1970s, the original bronze plaque on the base was stolen. In 1984, an aluminum alloy replacement was funded by the Rotary Club, who at that time, added the last line in the inscription.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Ohio State survey, 1992.

The Dayton Herald (Dayton, OH), Sept. 15, 1910, pg. 5.

The Dayton Journal (Dayton, OH), Sept. 17, 1919, pg. 8.

The Dayton Journal (Dayton, OH), April 21, 1935.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, OH0098, 1989.

Monumental News, Jan. 1910, pg. 23.

The Dayton Journal (Dayton, OH), June 8, 1938.

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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