Monuments in Wisner Park

by Erin Doane, Curator

For generations, people have been going to Wisner Park to meet with friends, gather for celebrations, speak out about various causes, shop for summer produce, and simply sit and enjoy the green space. In 1875, the Elmira Daily Advertiser declared the spot “one of the pleasantest in this city and hardly equaled in any place in the state or country." It is also a spot to commemorate local heroes. The park is dotted with nearly a dozen statues and memorials.

View of the eastern half of Wisner Park from above, c. 1950s

Thomas K. Beecher Statue, 1901

The first statue erected in Wisner Park was dedicated to Thomas K. Beecher. In 1854, Beecher came to Elmira to preach at the Independent Congregational Church, now known as Park Church. He served as minister there for 46 years. Just two days after his funeral in 1900, Col. William C. Buck called for a suitable monument to be erected in Wisner Park to honor Beecher. Eminent sculptor Jonathan Scott Hartley was hired to create the statue and it was dedicated in 1901.

Postcard showing children posing near the statue of Thomas K. Beecher, c. 1910s

Exedra, 1924

In 1919, at the end of World War I, a Victory Arch was built across Main Street near Wisner Park. People gathered there to welcome home the soldiers of Company L. A temporary honor roll inscribed with 96 names of local soldiers who died in the war was erected there as well. On Memorial Day 1924, a permanent monument to those who served in the war was dedicated . Exedra stands “in honor of the heroes” and “in memory of those who gave their lives.” Terzo Cenci, a young sculptor who was also a veteran of the war, designed and modeled the monument, and Ernest S. Leland was the architect. In 1936, Harry B. Bentley Post 443 of the American Legion added an eternal light in front of the monument.

Postcard showing the temporary honor roll, 1919

Postcard showing permanent Exedra monument, c. 1920s

The Hiker, 1929

In 1929, a second war monument was added to the park. “The Hiker” statue honors those who fought in the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Philippine-American War. Elmira’s statue is one of at least 50 copies throughout the United States. The original statue was created by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson for the University of Minnesota in 1906. The Common Council of Elmira and the Chemung County Board of Supervisors each contributed $2500 to purchase and erect the monument.

A gathering of veterans at The Hiker statue, date unknown

World War II Monument, 1949

During World War II, a temporary marker was placed in Wisner Park in memory of local soldiers who gave their lives in service. In 1949, the Harry B. Bentley Post erected a permanent monument honoring the 292 people who died and the 12,000 who served from Chemung County.

World War II monument, 2018

Korean and Vietnam Wars Monument, 1987

A monument honoring Chemung County men and women who served their country and gave their lives in Korea and Vietnam was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1987.

Korean and Vietnam Wars monument, 2018

Fallen Officers Memorial, 2000

On November 11, 2000, the Elmira Police Department unveiled a monument dedicated to fallen officers. It lists four men – Chief John J. Finnell, Sergeant Charles Gradwell, Officer August R. Michalke, and Sergeant John C. Hawley – who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Fallen Officers Memorial, 2018

Other Monuments

While walking around Wisner Park last week, I noticed there were several other smaller monuments that I had not noticed before. Near the Exedra monument are two black stone monuments carved to look like books. They are dedicated to two local Medal of Honor recipients, Thomas P. Gere and John Denny.

Medal of Honor monuments, 2018

Also, in the center of the eastern half of the park is a flag pole. Its base is a monument “In tribute to the honorable men and women who gallantly serve our country as we strive to preserve freedom throughout the world and establish a just and lasting peace.” It was erected by Chemung County AFL-CIO labor assembly.

Flagpole monument, 2018

The Forgotten War

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

            During our Ghost Walk trivia contest I asked the contestants which war the Hiker Monument in Wisner Park was dedicated to.   The answer is the Spanish-American War of 1898, but none of the contestants were able to guess that without first cycling through every American war.  Some folks like to claim that the Korean War is America’s forgotten war, but after 10 seasons of MASH, I think we can all agree that the Spanish-American War is the one that no one can actually remember. 

Postcard of the Hiker Monument in Wisner Park

            So just what was the Spanish-American War and how did it start?  The Spanish colony of Cuba had been rebelling against Spain on-and-off since the 1860s.  In 1895, the third war for Cuban independence began.  America, by and large, supported the rebels.  Cuba was a major American trading partner and there was a strong desire among hawks to obtain a Caribbean military base.  The Cuba Libre movement, centered around Florida and New York City, helped to provide money and smuggled weapons to the independence movement and while working hard to lobby the cause to the American public.  President McKinley was reluctant to get involved militarily and instead tried to force a peaceful solution to the conflict.  On November 15, 1897, Spain ratified autonomy decrees for Cuba and Puerto Rico, but it did little to quell unrest.   

Elmira Telegram, April 4, 1898

          And then came the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898.  A series of riots had broken out in the city in early January and the ship had been sent to protect American shipping interests.  The ship went down in an explosion which caused the deaths of 266 of the 355 crewmen, the causes of which are still unknown.  Newspapers like Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and William Hearst’s New York Journal claimed the explosion was Spanish plot and helped push the country towards war.  When Congress officially declared war on April 25, 1898, “Remember the Maine” was the rallying cry.

Front page of the Elmira Telegram, May 1, 1898

            On May 1, 1898, the City of Elmira gave a rounding sendoff to the men of the local 30^th Separate Company of the New York National Guard as they marched from the Armory to the trains that would take them to Long Island.  The streets were packed with well wishers including a delegation and marching band from Corning.  The policemen assigned to crowd control were forced to use their billy-clubs to clear the soldiers’ path to the train.   The company of 112 men from Elmira and Horseheads were eager to go but they never actually made it to the conflict.       

            Their first stop was Camp Black, Long Island where they were assigned to the First Battalion and re-designated as Company L.  From there they went for training at Camp Alger in Virginia.  The sanitary conditions at Camp Alger were so appalling that an epidemic of typhoid fever broke out among the men, killing several.  Those not afflicted practiced marching, earning themselves the nickname of “The Hikers.”  Meanwhile, the war in Cuba was doing so well the army decided to send the entire First Battalion home on September 12^th.  The men of Company L were officially mustered out December 10, 1898.

Company L men at Camp Alger, July 4, 1898

            Hostilities in the Spanish-American War were officially halted on August 12, 1898, although the Battle of Manila ended up taking place the following day.  After months of negotiations, the Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898 and ratified by Congress on February 6, 1899.  As a result, Cuba became an independent nation and the United States gained the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.  Thanks to the Camp Alger disaster, they also learned a valuable lesson about sanitation.  Following the war, the Army Medical Corps issued new regulations about sanitation standards which greatly reduced the loss of life due to disease in later wars.   

Company L on the steps of City Hall,  December 10, 1898