Photo courtesy Northfield Historical Society The Common in 1928 A SUITABLE MEMORIAL

Green Mountain Heritage, Julia McIntire, researcher and writer.

"Twenty years after the last gun had been fired in the War of the Rebellion, Northfield still mourned its men who had died in battle or in prison camps, and wished to honor all who had fought by erecting a suitable memorial. Of the thousands of men whom Vermont had sent to war, over 300 had come from Northfield and among these was many a son, husband, or father who never saw his native town again.

"On February 10, 1885, at the annual town meeting, the town voted to appropriate $500 for the erection of a soldiers' monument. F. L. Howe and Company, a local marble and granite cutting firm located at 2 North Main Street, was given the contract, the work to be completed before the coming Decoration Day.

"Needed was a new die (the part of the monument between the base and cap) on which to inscribe the names of all residents of Northfield who had served in the Civil War, whether in Vermont units or outside the state. The die was to be of Vermont marble, two feet, eleven inches high, weighing 6,000 pounds. The names, 332 of them, containing 3,543 letters were to be cut by E. L. Soper, a member of the firm.

"The base was to be of granite, six feet square and eighteen feet high, weighing five tons. Actually the granite base and the die were the only parts needed to be furnished by the company. The rest was a gift, (from Dr. Nichols, as recorded below, from the original Charles Paine Monument.)

"When ex-Governor Paine died and was buried in front of the Congregational Church in August, 1853, a monument was placed over his grave. In 1855 W. A. Stowell, who worked for F. L. Howe, lettered the monument which consisted of two bases and a spire of rough marble just as it came from the saw. The monument, in front of the Church, was clearly visible to crowds thronging Depot Square.

"Several years later, when Charles Paine's body was moved to Elmwood Cemetery, the old discarded monument came under the protection of Dr. Nichols, at the time Northfield's most influential citizen, and lay undisturbed until Dr. Nichols presented it to the town.

"Now the old Paine monument was put to a new use. On top of the granite base workmen placed the two marble bases; on the second were lettered eighteen names of navy and battery men. Then came the die, the cap with the inscription, and finally the spire two feet square at the base, tapering to a height of ten feet, six inches. Public subscription paid for the copper eagle on top of the spire.

"The whole monument was set in a solid foundation of stone and cement. A cavity was made in the granite base and a tin box placed there which contained Gregory's CENTENTIAL PROCEEDINGS AND HISTORICAL INCIDENTS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF NORTHFIELD, VERMONT, business cards of local firms, the town vote for the monument, and a copy each of the CHRISTIAN MESSENGER and NORTHFIELD NEWS. In the bases also F. L. Howe placed three pennies for his small son, Haroll. Colonel Haroll Howe, Ret., contributed much information about Northfield in his later years. A long-time resident of Tucson, Arizona, his last visit to Northfield was in the summer of 1966.

"Dedication ceremonies were planned under the auspices of Johnson Post, G.A.R. A large crowd was expected. Persons coming from outside the village were asked to bring pork and beans, white and brown bread, and pies to Howe's Hall early on Memorial Day. The monument was to be elegantly decorated by the patriotic ladies of the village with ropes of evergreens hung from the spire to the ground.

"Decoration Day, May 30, 1885, dawned inauspiciously, but early in the day a large crowd appeared. A free lunch was served at noon, and at one a procession which included the Northfield Coronet Band, Gouldsville Brass Band, Water Witch Engine Company, Torrent Engine Company, Hook and Ladder Company, lodges, school children, Norwich cadets, invited guests, Company F, and citizens, marched up Central Street to South to Main to Vine and North to Elmwood Cemetery where graves were decorated. Then the procession marched back down Vine via Water Street to the Common.

"At three the dedicatory exercises began. Crowds on foot or in horse-drawn wagons milled around the common from every direction. Women in long skirts and large hats, escorted by their menfolk, children dressed in long trousers or skirts like their elders, swarmed over the common. The President of the Day, Dr. P. D. Bradford, gave the address n which he referred to the 'vast assembly' present. W. W. Holden presented the monument to the town and concluded by saying, 'town of Northfield, take it, teach your children and your children's children for all generations to care for, guard and protect it as an emblem of loyalty, patriotism and heroic deeds.'

"The address of the day, highly emotional and very long indeed by today's standards, but considered entirely proper at the time, was given by the respected Frank Plumley, 'Stand then, O Monument of pure white marble on thy enduring marble base while time shall last,' he said.

"The highlight of the day was a large, resplendent wagon, decorated also with ropes of evergreens, drawn by four horses, carrying thirty eight young ladies all dressed in white, each representing a State of the Union.

"Fortunately Northfield's photographer, R. M. McIntosh was there to record the event for us. (We are hoping some of his photographs will be unearthed as we work on the Glass Negatives Project). Fred Whitney, editor of the News, said it was 'pronounced by many as the most beautiful sight ever seen in Northfield.'"