Members of the Lyndeborough Monument Committee took a field trip to Peterborough Granite & Marble Works to see the progress of their Revolutionary War monument, which is under construction.
The classy-looking three-piece oblique monument was made from Barre Gray granite quarried in Barre, Vt. The sides are smooth with a sleek look. The tall, oblique-shaped granite will sit on a square base, in which each side will have a bronze plaque depicting the memorial dedication, battles that Lyndeborough residents fought in, as well as a list of major donors. The height is about 7 feet and weighs over 1,200 pounds.
The Monument Committee thought it looked nice. Jessie Salisbury said, “It looked like we envisioned it.”
Committee member Walter Holland said, “A few years ago we were thinking of what we wanted to do for the nation’s 250th anniversary and realized we don’t have a Revolutionary War Monument in town.” A committee was formed to explore options.
Holland commented, “It is similar to the Soldiers’ Monument in South Cemetery and other time period monuments in our cemeteries.”
“The same family installed the Soldiers’ Monument in 1879 in Lyndeborough,” said Holland. The committee was proud to ask Peterborough Granite & Marble Works to also make this monument. The Kaufhold family has been running the shop since 1849.
The monument will be installed in Memorial Park on Forest Road. Committee Chairman Mark Chamberlain said, “We wanted it to be different from the other monuments at Memorial Park.” To date, the four monuments honor soldiers from the U.S. armed services who served in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam Conflict, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, the Gulf War, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. As part of this project, a new base will be installed under the decommissioned Civil War cannon honoring Cpl. John Alonzo Hartshorn. The Civil War monument is in South Cemetery.
The Lyndeborough Department of Public Works will be installing the footing and concrete in preparation for the monument. After the plaques are completed and attached to the granite, Peterborough Granite & Marble Works will move the monument to Memorial Park to be assembled sometime in July.
An official dedication is planned for Aug. 15 at 3 p.m. at Memorial Park, with a community supper to follow at Citizens’ Hall. The next day is Community Day at Center Hall.
Ongoing fundraising includes a raffle for a patriotic-themed, locally handmade quilt and the sale of challenge coins that have the town seal on one side and the 250th Revolutionary War anniversary with the image of the monument on the flip side. To order raffle tickets or coins, for more information, or to help with the community supper, please call or text Kathleen Baglio Humphreys at 603-759-9009.