PEORIA, Ill. — A long lost piece of Peoria’s past is set to become a noticeable part of Peoria’s present.
A ceremony was scheduled for Saturday at Springdale Cemetery to unveil the restored and rebuilt Peoria County Civil War Monument, originally dedicated October 11, 1866 and knocked down in 1962.
“That monument will be visible on the Peoria skyline for the first time since 1962,” said Bruce Brown, a key figure in the restoration.
The 2:00 P.M. program was expected to feature a presentation by the Central Illinois Living Historians, an invocation, and a performance of a Civil War-era spiritual.
“The Shaft,” as the monument was nicknamed in its heyday, was located in the courthouse lawn but removed to make way for construction of the modern day Peoria County Courthouse.
In January 2017, efforts began to search for remaining pieces of the original monument, which was the first Civil War monument and memorial erected in Illinois.
“It was done to commemorate the service and sacrifice of 607 Peoria County residents who were Union soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Civil War,” Brown said.
Those pieces began to be found in June 2017 when an octagon-shaped rock was seen sticking out of the ground in the weeds of Detweiller Marina.
That led to the finding of other pieces, including a base piece weighing 13,000 pounds.
“A lot of moving parts and a lot of moving stones,” joked Brown.
The missing elements — an 11-foot column and the Old Abe American bald eagle mascot, which adorned the top of the structure — were reproduced by the company that made the original monument.
“Through community efforts, and an extraordinarily responsive community, we were able to raise the money to contract with that company,” Brown said.
Brown noted Springdale Cemetery was the preferred site of the original monument but it was placed on the courthouse lawn because of its centralized location.
The only known photo of the dedication of the original monument.
