LAGRANGE, Ohio — A piece of history missing from LaGrange’s town center for more than two years will be returning this spring.
The century-old Civil War monument, featuring a Union soldier and engraved names of war veterans, was toppled by a semi-truck in June 2022. The driver, who fell asleep behind the wheel, was not seriously injured. In recent months, a settlement with the trucking company’s insurance was approved to cover the costs of replacing the iconic memorial.
“That’s a symbol of LaGrange. I mean it’s been there before any of us were alive,” said LaGrange Township Trustee Gary Burnett.
This week, township and village leaders saw the progress on a reconstructed version of the 1903 statue.
“LaGrange was [associated with] the statue because, besides Pittsfield, we’re the only ones in Lorain County that have a Civil War statue,” said LaGrange Mayor Gary Kincannon. “And now we don’t have one anymore, so that’s why it’s going to be nice to have it back.”
Kincannon explained the monument, known locally as “General Sherman” for its association with famed Union Commanding General William Tecumseh Sherman, was a joint venture by the village and township at the turn of the century. It was placed in the town’s historic public green and later included lighting and landscaping.
“In 1903, the village and township both got bonds for $1,500 each, $3,000, so they built General Sherman,” he said. “In almost 150 years, nobody had run through the circle. And in one big fell swoop, a semi-truck wiped out the circle, including the General Sherman statue.”
Burnett added, “It was broken in a lot of pieces. We went and picked up everything, even little chips, because we didn’t know what would happen.”
The fragments were eventually brought to Cleveland Stone Co. in Vermilion, where they were reassembled by carver Nicholas Fairplay.
“The statue came in like a hundred pieces. So me and my son actually sort of stuck it all together,” Fairplay recalled. “It was like a jigsaw, all the pieces— you’re trying to work out where they go.”
He explained the fractured statue would not be strong enough to endure long-term exposure outside, so work has begun to reconstruct the entire monument. Granite for the project was sourced from a quarry near where the initial statue’s material originated.
“We expected to have the material to us like three months ago. So now we’re three months behind, so the pressure’s on us to get it done,” Fairplay said.
The village and township hope to dedicate the new statue and a re-imagined memorial garden in the town center on Memorial Weekend in May. The crash, which drew attention from Civil War organizations and individuals, also presented an opportunity to redesign the town center.
“You’d be surprised how many Civil War buffs are out there and organizations. And they keep track of these statues. They all recognized what happened and were like, ‘Well how can we help?’” Kincannon said.
Burnett said, “It broke the flag pole, it broke the lights, tore up all the landscaping so we’re starting from scratch.”
The three-day Memorial weekend event will also celebrate both LaGrange Township’s bicentennial and the village’s sesquicentennial. Local groups plan to repurpose some of the damaged pieces of the monument, and plans to display the original statue indoors are being discussed.
Many are looking forward to the return of “General Sherman.”
“Without this, it’s almost not like LaGrange to drive through and not see it every day. It’s very important to the people that live here,” Burnett said. “We’re not glad it happened, we’re glad it’s getting fixed.”
