Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Hiker Monument and Rockery, Wakefield, Mass.

Description

Photos show views of the Rockery in the middle of Main Street at the intersection of Crescent Street. The Rockery was contructed to beautify the area in the 1880s, and at the time was often called the "Grotto". The structure was completed in 1884 at a cost of about $2,600, and included a fountain which splashed water over the vine-covered rocks into the pool below. The bronze Hiker Monument, by sculptor Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson, is sometimes mistaken for a Revolutionary War minuteman, but was actually erected in honor of those Wakefield citizens who fought in the Spanish-American War. The statue was dedicated on October 12, 1926. The Rockery is also the location of Wakefield's town Christmas tree, which is placed in front of the Hiker statue during the holiday season.

This monument erected by the town of Wakefield to commemorate the valor and patriotism of the men of this town who served in the war with Spain, Philippine insurrection, and China relief expedition 1898-1902. Dedicated October 12, 1926 under the auspices of Corporal Charles F. Parker, Camp No. 39, United Spanish War Veterans, Department of Massachusetts. - Text from plaque at base of monument.

Detailed entry in building survey, "The cultural resources of Wakefield", pD152

Photos taken at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, April 25, 2008

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Creator

Klapes, Jeffrey M., 1964-

Date

04-25-2008

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass. : The author]

Subject

Rockery (Wakefield, Mass.)

Spanish-American War, 1898

Monuments

War memorials

Kitson, Theo Alice Ruggles, 1876-1932

The Hiker

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

7 photographs : digital, JPEG file, color