The Bigelow Monument is a public monument in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The monument, located in a small cemetery at the center of Worcester Common, honors Timothy Bigelow, a Patriot during the American Revolutionary War. The monument was dedicated on April 19, 1861, the 86th anniversary of the start of the war.

History

Background

Timothy Bigelow was born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, on August 12, 1739. As an adult, he worked as a blacksmith and owned a shop in Worcester. During the American Revolution, he was a Patriot, and He served as a colonel during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded the 15th Massachusetts Regiment and is notable for leading

minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

from Worcester during the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

, the first military engagement of the war. He was also involved in the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

and Valley Forge. Following the war, he commanded the

Springfield Arsenal The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...

before dying on March 31, 1790, at the age of 51.

Erection

On December 23, 1859, the city council of Worcester passed an act allowing Timothy Bigelow Lawrence (Bigelow's great grandson and son of

Abbott Lawrence Abbott Lawrence (December 16, 1792, Groton, Massachusetts – August 18, 1855) was a prominent American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was among the group of industrialists that founded a settlement on the Merrimack River that w ...

) to erect a monument to Timothy Bigelow on top of his burial place, located in Worcester Common. Worcester Mayor

Alexander Bullock Alexander Hamilton Bullock (March 2, 1816 – January 17, 1882) was an American lawyer, politician, and businessman from Massachusetts. First a Whig and then a Republican, he served three terms (1866–69) as the 26th Governor of Massachuset ...

designated a lot in the small cemetery in the commons for the monument. A committee was formed for the purposes of coordinating the monument's erection and dedication, and a group of prominent citizens organized to aid the committee, with former Massachusetts Governor

Levi Lincoln Jr. Levi Lincoln Jr. (October 25, 1782 – May 29, 1868) was an American lawyer and politician from Worcester, Massachusetts. He was the 13th Governor of Massachusetts (1825–1834) and represented the state in the U.S. Congress (1834–1841). Linc ...

as their

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. In March 1861, the committee extended an invitation to Worcester native George Bancroft to give an oration at the monument's dedication, but he declined, citing his health. As part of the erection of the monument, Bigelow's body was exhumed and reinterred in a metallic casket. The monument itself was designed by George Snell, an architect from Boston. Two companies were involved in the construction of the monument, with the Granite Railway Company executing the granite portion of the monument and the marble, imported from Tuscany, was executed by Wentworth and Co. of Boston.

Dedication and later history

The monument's dedication ceremony took place on April 19, 1861. On the Friday before the dedication (April 12) Mayor Isaac Davis and Governor Lincoln held a ceremony wherein multiple items were deposited within the monument, including multiple publications, a piece of wood from the Charter Oak, and a lock of hair belonging to Bigelow, among other items. The dedication ceremony, described in a 1914 book as one of the largest gatherings in the city, was attended by numerous descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers. The celebrations included a song, written by

Clark Jillson Clark Jillson was an American politician who served as the 18th Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1873 to 1874. Clark Jillson was born in Windham, Vermont, on April 11, 1825. He was brought up on his father's farm in Vermont, also helping h ...

, performed by a local glee club, followed by speeches given by several notable individuals. Among these included Lawrence, Mayor Davis, Governor Lincoln, Benjamin Thomas (grandson of Bigelow's contemporary Isaiah Thomas), and several members of the Bigelow family. While the dedication was taking place, members of the

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. *Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) *Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April 20, ...

were involved in violent confrontations in the Baltimore riot of 1861, one of the first civil conflicts of the American Civil War. News of the violence would not reach Worcester until after the ceremony had concluded. An 1889 history book on Worcester County lists the Bigelow Monument as one of only two memorials on Worcester Common, along with the Soldiers' Monument. Coincidentally, the Soldiers' Monument was accepted by Mayor Edward Livingston Davis, son of the mayor who had accepted the Bigelow Monument. In 1994, the monument was assessed as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! project. On Mother's Day in 2009, a

military drill A drill is a tool or machine for cutting holes in a material. Drill may also refer to: Animals * Drill (animal), a type of African primate * Oyster drill, a type of snail Military * Military exercise * Foot drill, the movements performed on a p ...

and wreath laying ceremony was held at the monument, with historian and author

Ray Raphael Ray Raphael (born April 19, 1943) is an American historian and author of twenty books. He is noted for his work on the American Revolution, the Constitution, and the regional history of Northern California. American Revolution In 2001, Raphael ...

presenting.

Design

The plot of land the monument occupies is surrounded by an iron fence, with the monument itself resting on a square granite platform with sides of . The square base of the monument has sides measuring approximately . A time capsule is buried underneath the monument that contains documents regarding Bigelow and life in the colonial era. The architectural style of the monument, which is built primarily of Italian marble, is English Gothic. The monument's pedestal is four-sided, with carvings of ram's heads on each angle, with the following inscriptions on each face of the pedestal: Above the pedestal, the four sides of the monument features carved canopies, atop which the monument becomes octagonal. According to a commemorative program published shortly after the dedication, the monument was topped with a foliated cross, with the total height of the structure being . However, the

Smithsonian Institution Research Information System The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

gives the original height of the monument as . Additionally, they state that at some point, some of the stones on the upper portion of the monument were replaced with shorter stones, giving a present height of .

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{Public art in Worcester, Massachusetts 1861 establishments in Massachusetts 1861 sculptures American Revolutionary War monuments and memorials Buildings and structures in Worcester, Massachusetts Culture of Worcester, Massachusetts Monuments and memorials in Massachusetts Outdoor sculptures in Massachusetts Landmarks in Worcester, Massachusetts