The Dauphin County Veteran's Memorial Obelisk, sometimes called the Harrisburg Obelisk, is an Egyptian-style

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

that was erected in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, United States as a tribute to

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. ...

’s

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

soldiers. Designed by civil engineer E. Hudson Worrall, its planning, development and dedication phases were supervised by the Dauphin County Soldiers' Monument Association, which was formed by an act of the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

on January 30, 1867. It was planned and built in two installments between 1867 and 1876, enabling city leaders to raise the funds necessary for its construction.

History and design

On Wednesday, January 30, 1867, the

passed legislation which authorized the formation and incorporation of the Dauphin County Soldiers' Monument Association. One of its earliest charges was to raise the funds necessary to erect "a suitable monument" that would honor soldiers from the county who had served during the American Civil War. Three months later, Tuesday, April 3, 1867, members of the planning committee met at the State Capitol Hotel in Harrisburg to review multiple architectural design plans that had been submitted to the committee for the proposed monument. Ultimately, the design chosen by the committee was created by Harrisburg resident E. Hudson Worrall, a civil engineer associated with the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

who was a son of Colonel James Worrall, the civil engineer serving as the Pennsylvania State Fish Commissioner under Governor John F. Hartranft. Just over six months later, on Friday, October 18, 1867, the planning committee approved the selection of Brown & Strohaker as contractors for the project, and construction of the monument was initiated by the firm in November. The initial cost estimate of $10,990 and the $9,257 that had been raised in support of the project, however, proved to be far short of what the project's true cost would be. By 1869, the project was abandoned by Brown & Stohaker after the firm had already used up $9,150 of its allotted funding to erect just sixty of the monument's proposed one hundred and ten feet. Construction was finally resumed circa 1877 after Dauphin County commissioners approved $2,500 to support construction of the monument's shaft. Those funds were then supplemented through a new fundraising drive launched by concerned citizens, who were able to raise a total of $1,775.50. The new funds, combined with slightly more than $106 that was left from the initial fundraising campaign, were used by monument committee planners to hire a new contractor, Jehu DeHaven, in September 1876, who finished the monument on November 19, 1876. Influenced by the classic

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

architecture and not unlike the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

, the Harrisburg obelisk was cut from stone taken from the banks of the nearby

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, and was originally erected in the middle of a park located at the North Second and State Streets intersection of

downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Downtown Harrisburg is the central core neighborhood, business and government center which surrounds the focal point of Market Square, and serves as the regional center for the greater metropolitan area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. ...

. Standing high, and weighing over 600 tons, it included a stone plaque inscribed with the following tribute:

"To the soldiers of Dauphin County who gave their lives for the life of the Union in the suppression of the rebellion 1861-1865. Erected by their fellow citizens."

The surrounding park was gradually subdivided and developed through the years. After years of exposure, the monument became damaged by passing vehicles and eroded by the weather. A decision was made to refurbish it and relocate it. After a thorough cleaning, the monument was moved to its present location in 1960 at Third and Division streets, near the

Zembo Shrine Building The Zembo Shrine Building, also known as the Zembo Mosque (and the Zembo Temple Mosque), is a Masonic building located in the Uptown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is significant architecturally as an example of Moorish Revival archit ...

, the former William Penn High School, and Italian Lake in the

Uptown Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, Chicago, Illinois * Uptown Manhattan, New York City, New York * Uptown, Richmond, Virginia * Uptown, Dallas, Texas * Uptown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania * Upt ...

section of Harrisburg.

Gallery

File:Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg, PA, 1909.jpg, The obelisk's original location as seen from State Street in 1909

References

{{reflist 1870s establishments in Pennsylvania 1876 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1876 Monuments and memorials in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Obelisks in the United States Outdoor sculptures in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Stone sculptures in Pennsylvania Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Pennsylvania