Funds Sought For Civil War Monument Repairs

ORLEANS – The Civil War soldier monument has been standing proudly at the intersection of Main Street and Monument Road for 142 years. But for the past several years, he’s taken on a backward lean.

An article could be prepared for November’s special town meeting seeking the funding necessary to create a bronze replica of the monument, one that could last hundreds of years.

The select board on Aug. 6 voiced their support for creating the replica, which would replace the existing granite monument. The existing monument would then be preserved and protected elsewhere in Orleans indoors.

Kevin Higgins, who chairs the town’s veterans’ committee, updated the board on the condition of the monument at last week’s meeting. In a memo to the board, he wrote that the monument had started to take a “severe lean to the rear” as far back as 2017 or 2018, likely the result of storm activity.

Higgins said there is damage to the zinc plating near the base of the monument, which was built in 1883. At the time, he said, zinc plating was “very popular.”

“Now we’re starting to learn that the salt air and the wind and everything else is starting to take its toll,” he told the board.

An estimate from Canton-based Buccacio Sculpture Services in 2019 put the  cost of repairing the damaged zinc at $64,000. But the COVID-19 pandemic delayed work on the project, Higgins said.

But more recent estimates from the company secured last August are still in line with the 2019 figure, Higgins said. He presented two options, the first being to send the monument to Canton to repair the damaged zinc and to place it back on Monument Road upon completion. That could cost anywhere from $68,400 to $98,400, depending on the extent of the damage.

“There are certain rods that come up through the granite,” Higgins said. “Those rods may have deteriorated.”

The first option would keep the original monument and would also be eligible for funding through the Community Preservation Act, Higgins said.

The second option would involve again sending the monument to Canton for use in creating a bronze mold that Buccacio said could last as long as 500 years. Higgins suggested that a local organization, perhaps the Centers for Culture and History in Orleans, could house the original monument. 

The replica also could restore the musket that was stolen from the hands of the soldier depicted in the monument decades ago, Higgins added.

“They know what type of musket it was, and they’ll be able to make a bronze sculpture of the musket and put that back on there as well.”

The estimated cost for the second option is $58,500. There was some uncertainty last week as to whether the second option would be eligible for CPA money. But Higgins said between the lower cost and the projected lifespan of the bronze replica, the veterans committee supports option two.

“I think it makes the most sense, especially the longevity on this,” select board Chair Kevin Galligan said in agreement.

Mefford Runyon of the select board also voiced his support for the second option, but he said the issue of whether or not creating the bronze replica could in fact qualify for community preservation funds should be explored further. New construction projects are not eligible for CPA funds, but Runyon wondered if the project could be considered a restoration. In that case, the project could be eligible.

Town Manager Kim Newman said the eligibility of option two for CPA funds needs to be further explored. But Higgins said based on informal conversations he’s had with members of the town’s community preservation committee, the project would not qualify for CPA money.

Still, select board members spoke in support of a possible warrant article for November seeking the $58,500. Andrea Reed of the select board said conversations should take place with other community groups, such as the Orleans Improvement Association and the town’s cultural district and cultural council, about what money they could contribute to the effort to help offset the town meeting request.

 “I look at the cost of this relative to everything else we’ve got on our plates right now, and I’m like, ‘let’s shake some trees.’ (Let’s) not just (do) a warrant article,” she said.