Guest post by Nathan Arizona
The statue of President James A. Garfield has left Wilmington before most people even knew it was here. No longer does he stand on a tiny Concord Avenue lawn across from the Kreston liquor store and next to a brick house whose windows he could easily peer into if he turned around. James Garfield is now in Ohio.
And no longer will those who did know about it ask themselves, Why is there a statue of James Garfield in Wilmington? The only reason seems to be that he was assassinated in 1881 by our old friend the “disappointed office seeker,” after serving for just six months. Assassinated presidents tend to get memorialized, even in cities where they otherwise have no connection.
But Garfield was recently driven 385 miles to a place where he does have a connection, Hiram, Ohio. He was a student at the college there and later the principal. He now stands on a lawn in front of the Hiram Village Hall, a small brick building that also looks like a house somebody might live in. There was already another Garfield statue nearby. They love them some Garfield.
Our crack team of reporters at the Facebook Hiram bureau said the city of Wilmington wanted to give away the statue and even paid for its transport. Hiram’s mayor explained, “The section of town where it was located was once glorious, but now it’s a less-than-glorious location. They thought it would be a good idea to bring him home.”
Garfield was hardly an embarrassment to the city. The moderate Republican had a good record on civil rights and, importantly, did not own slaves. In fact, he had been a Union general in the Civil War. In recent surveys Garfield has been ranked in the low 20s among the 45 U.S. presidents.
The statue weighs about 20,000 pounds and is 17 feet tall. It used to be taller. The movers left part of the stone pedestal behind. At least they didn’t cut him off at the knees.
The zinc statue had been moved once before but within the city. It was put up in 1895 at the intersection of Delaware Avenue, Washington Street and 11th Street. In 1916 a road widening project required a relocation and off it went to a tiny lawn on Concord Avenue.
So the score now is Hiram 2 Garfield statues, Wilmington 0. Let’s hope he doesn’t run into any disappointed office seekers out there.
