Following Memorial Day parade, a Ohio community near Cleveland will unveil a replacement for its Civil War statue shattered by a big rig in 2022

The new monument is at left in first photo, right in second image (Photos courtesy N. Fairplay)

Nearly three years after a tractor trailer slammed into a Civil War monument in northern Ohio, knocking it to pieces, a replica will be unveiled on Memorial Day, a symbol of community pride in veterans and their sacrifice.

Officials in LaGrange were determined to replace the 1903 granite memorial that was obliterated in June 2022. The monument, which was made up of several pieces, topped by a Union soldier, was shattered. Even his was broken off.

The metro Cleveland and farm community determined the damage was too severe for a repair.

After finalizing a $923,244 settlement with the trucking company’s insurance company, LaGrange Township hired master carver Nicholas Fairplay and Cleveland Quarries to make new versions of the statue and other parts of the monument in the downtown square.

They worked from the original statue -- painstakingly glued together by Fairplay and an assistant to use as a template for the new one. He worked in a studio at Cleveland Quarries, which milled the raw form of the replacement statue at its operation in Vermilion.

The piece was shattered into dozens of pieces, including its head (Photos LaGrange Township)

Fairplay told the Picket he expects to have the work completed late this week. He provided a few photos showing results of the detail work he and the assistant performed.

“The space between the legs and hand are now pierced. We are now working on the surface detail,” he said. Of one photo he sent, the carver said, “You can see red pencil marks showing where we have to carve deeper shadow.”

LaGrange Township trustee Rita Canfield said the plan is to have the so-called Sherman statue installed the week of May 12. The soldier's figure will be covered until Memorial Day (May 26).

Return of the fixture at the intersection of routes 301 and 303 (Main Street) coincides with the 200^th anniversary of the township and the 150^th for the village. (They are separate political entities).

Joint events on May 24-26 include a car show, pancake breakfast, 5K run, carnival, parade and the statue unveiling on Memorial Day. Members of the LaGrange Historical Society will be present all three days. (More details here)

Faint red marks on new statue (left) show areas needing refining (Photo courtesy N. Fairplay)

“We hope to have a good turnout and will be hosting fireworks and other events as part of the return celebration and the founding of the community at the same time,” said Canfield.

Below the statue is the monument base, which carried the names of LaGrange area residents who served during the war, the names of a few battles and of Union generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan and George Thomas. Cleveland Quarries replaced all of the pieces comprising the base.

“I must say that Nick has done a fabulous job,” said Canfield. “His work has been impeccable. Cleveland Quarries owner Zach Carpenter and his team have given us our heritage back. They have been the type of partner that we all want to work with: Transparent, honest, fair and very highly skilled with an insane attention to detail in their recreation of our monument.”

He has stood tall for more than 120 years

To say the Sherman statue, as locals call it, is vital to the area’s identity might be an understatement. It sits smack dab in the middle of the community, which has about 2,500 residents.

The memorial, made of Vermont granite, was erected in 1903 (some sources say 1904) for about $3,000. The project was a joint project of LaGrange Village and LaGrange Township, a separate political entity. They are in Lorain County.

The monument is owned by the township and is the center point of the village. (At left, the monument before its destruction, photo LaGrange Township)

The township was determined the new Sherman is faithful to the old one in every way, from the pose and flag of the Federal soldier to the stacked blocks below him that feature battles and the names of area men who served and died in the war.

After the traffic accident, officials ensured that virtually every piece, down to chips, of the monument were stored so they could serve as a guide for the replica.

Fairplay describes the soldier as having undersized feet and hands. “I think his legs are a little shorter for this height.”

“He is carved quite simple but (is) a heroic, nostalgic statue. It is not a Greek or Roman statue emphasizing portraiture.” The work will include the U.S. flag leaning out and a tree stump next to the right leg. “Most have tree stumps or drapery because the weight of the statue will not be (supported) by the ankles,” said Fairplay.

I asked him why the new statue is lighter than the original.

“The original statue is darker due to pollution on the surface which could be cleaned off. You could see the original color of the granite when the statue was in pieces.” By that, he means granite below the surface was not discolored and when the memorial was broken, you could see the difference (photo below).

Safeguarding the soldier's future

Canfield said the insurance settlement will fund the monument, a new flagpole, lights and other infrastructure on the circle. 

Truckers often use Route 301 through town. A series of crashes, culminating with the loss of the soldier, prompted officials to place bright yellow metal poles – known as bollards – to warn motorists of the vulnerable circle.

In the 2022 incident, an incident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the driver told a responding officer that he fell asleep and went through a stop sign. The driver was not found to be impaired.

Cleveland Quarries is donating large sandstone blocks to replace the bollards.

“We are pretty confident if someone fails to stop, if they hit the couple tons they will come to a stop,” Canfield said in a bit of understatement.

The Sherman statue suffered another indignity 65 years ago, according to a Lorain County nostalgia blog. A newspaper article in November 1957 said pranksters tarred and feathered the base.

So what will happen to the original monument after Memorial Day?

“At this time, the … old statue of Sherman will be placed in the old Society Hall/fire station. The remaining base pieces will be placed in the cemetery,” said Canfield. “The epoxy used to glue the statue back together will not tolerate the weather and would degrade over time.”

One of the Civil War campaigns being noted in the new monument (Cleveland Quarries)